Mystic Guardians

[Metal Snake]

So Valina's revenge plan was to neglect her responsibilities as a mother and relive her high school days? She really ain't right. My favorite part of the episode was the reveal with Deckel. Also really liked seeing the guardians fight on their own again and the return of Red.

[Jjs Goodman]

46. Enemy Mine

Two nematodes are seen taking algae out of the green hole, which was in the forcefield around the Pyrite Town algae field. They put it into a cart, and were about to roll off, when Van Gordon pops his head up from the ground, with the cart on his head, and the other runs off. He looks at the hole, pulling out a notebook and pencil.

"Is the mystery...how is there hole in algae forcefield? But better question is...who put hole there? They broke the powerful forcefield. If I find out how, I can get algae for everybody in town." Van Gordon spoke out loud, scribbling notes down.

"You do know you're talking to yourself out loud like a weirdo, right?" a mysterious voice asked, as a fish with a ripped white shirt and metal hand appeared.

Van Gordon didn't know how to respond, as the nematode cart went falling off his head.

"Oh...thanks, I didn't realize I-" Van Gordon was saying, when the fish hit him in the head with the metal hand, knocking him out.

The heroes are seen headed to Permafrost Mountain.

"Why are we headed back here again?" Cynthia asked annoyed.

"Ranen says he got reports that Federation soldiers were near here for an unknown reason." Cameron said.

"We haven't fought those idiots in a while, wonder what they've been up to." Jake wondered.

They looked around to see villagers playing in the snow.

"Have you seen the Federation around here?" Cameron asked a villager.

"Yeah, we saw a few of them go into the mountain earlier. Not sure why, they didn't even bug us. Thought they were long gone, but at least we have you guys to protect us." the villager replied.

The heroes headed up toward the mountain, as snow was blowing everywhere.

"You know, despite how many times we fight these guys, I wonder if not all of them are bad. I mean, that Gordon guy was able to kind of redeem himself during my Pyrite Town adventure. Maybe there's hope for others." Nick wondered.

"I doubt it, most of them knew what Ramos and his family were doing, they can't be redeemed." Cameron said.

"Speaking of that Gordon guy, I wonder what he's up to now..." Audrey said.

...

Van Gordon is seen waking up somewhere underground, grumbling, and sees nematodes moving bags of algae everywhere. His body was covered by a bag, and he couldn't move. A nematode passes by him.

"Hey nematode, what is this place?" Van Gordon asked, but the nematode just growled at him, and kept going off.

The fish from earlier then walks in front, as Van Gordon still struggled to break free.

"Pal, the only way out of here is through me." the fish taunted, flexing his muscles.

"Okay, but I did not ask to lea-" Van Gordon was saying, as the fish taunted him again, still flexing their muscles.

The fish stopped, and whistled, as two nematodes picked up Van Gordon, following the fish. As he was being carried, Van Gordon looked around, seeing algae being moved through conveyer belts.

"This algae could feed lots of people, where does it all go?" Van Gordon asked.

"Psh, it goes into the grinder over there." the fish pointed, as several fish were seen pushing around a spinning contraption, which was grinding up a giant pile of algae pieces.

"STOP THE THING!!!" the fish yelled angrily.

"Oh man, I hate when Scott yells..." a fish sighed, as they all stopped pushing.

Van Gordon is pushed out of the bag, and escorted to a part of the contraption. A purple starfish was next to him, who waved, and Van Gordon noticed two open handcuff chains for his hands.

"Hands go there." Scott said.

"I will not-" Van Gordon refused, when Scott hit him in the head with his metal hand again.

"Fine, I will." he said reluctantly, putting his hands in place, and the cuffs locked them in.

"Yeah, get to work boy. WHAT ARE YA WAITING FOR, GET THE THING STARTED!!!" Scott yelled to all of the minions, as they started pushing it again sadly.

As the contraption was being pushed, Van Gordon looked at the purple starfish next to him.

"Where does all algae go after grinding?" Van Gordon asked.

"It does down da hole." the starfish replied.

"Why?" Van Gordon asked.

"Cause if we don't, we get thrown down dat hole..." the starfish said, pointing to a hole nearby with a sign saying "Trash". A fish was seen throwing junk down it.

"No, I mean, where does it go?" Van Gordon asked again.

"Da hole." the starfish replied.

"Okay, I get that. Then what?" Van Gordon asked.

"Then we get food, mmm..." the starfish replied.

"No, the algae, I am talking about algae! Where...does the algae go?" Van Gordon asked, getting irritated.

"Oh...the algae, eh. It does down da hole." the starfish replied, making Van Gordon angry. He was struggling to break free from the handcuffs, still pushing the contraption.

"Yes, yes, it goes down the hole." Van Gordon said.

"Oh okay, so you do know where it goes-" the starfish was saying, when Scott grabbed him, unhooking the handcuffs.

"You know exactly where it goes bud. It goes in...YOUR POCKETS!" Scott said angrily, shaking the starfish, and algae pieces fell out of their pockets.

"Ehehe...hey, now how did those pieces get in there?" the starfish asked nervously, and Scott dropped him to the ground.

"The boss doesn't look kindly to those who steal from him. He wants to see you." Scott said coldly, making the starfish gasp.

"The...the boss...wants to see me?" the starfish asked, making all of the other minions nervous.

"B-boss!" a fish panicked.

"No no no, not him!" others cried.

"...Boss?" Van Gordon pondered, writing it down in his notebook.

"Hey hey Scott, no need to get the boss involved, it's just a few pieces of algae. I...got this, no problem. I'll make sure to scream all the way down too. Have a nice day, bye!" the starfish said nervously, walking to the trash hole. He jumped down it, and yelled all the way down.

Back at Permafrost Mountain, the heroes headed into the cavern, powered up. 

"Follow me, I see footprints." Zero said, analyzing the icy ground.

They followed Zero's trail, and arrived at a dead end where Skipper was with Federation soldiers. They were trying to mine through a wall with equipment.

"What's taking so long, it's freezing in here?!" Skipper asked to a solider, shivering.

"We're sorry sir, this equipment is having a tough time breaking through the ice!" a soldier reported, controlling the machine.

"Stop right there!" Madison yelled, shooting a lightning blast at a soldier. Skipper and the soldiers turned around.

"The guardians!? Stop them!" Skipper ordered, as the soldiers began firing at once.

"Oh great, this weirdo again." Cynthia said.

"Isn't that Ramos's weird butler?" Tori asked.

"What are you even doing here?" Cameron asked, punching a soldier, and sending them smashing against the icy wall.

"We're here to find and control the legendary creature Slittercold. Rumor has it that it covers paths with its icy breath, creating new walls, which is why this place has so many dang dead ends. We're going to break through every wall until we find it!" Skipper said, shooting dark electricity at the heroes, who were either hit or barely avoided, as it smashed into ice.

"We met it once, but I don't think it wants to see you guys." Tori said, twirling a soldier in a whirlpool.

"How did you kids even find us? Shouldn't you be indoors watching a cartoon like Snail-tective or My Little Seahorse?" a soldier taunted, when Cynthia sent an ice rock hurling at them, but they slid out of the way.

"I'm turning 17 on February 4th, I outgrew My Little Seahorse a long time ago. I've moved onto anime." Audrey said, turning invisible.

"I didn't ask for your life story, now come out and fight-" the soldier demanded, as Audrey re-appeared and sent the soldier flying into the icy wall with a gust blast.

"I still don't know what "anime" is." Zero said, shocking a soldier.

"Look it up sometime in your database, doc." Tori said, shooting a combined ice blast with Audrey at Skipper, but he teleported out of the way.

"Ooh, My Little Seahorse is my favorite show!" said one of the stupid guards.

"Me too, we have so much in common!" another stupid guard said, as Cameron and Nick knocked both of them down. "Ouch."

Only Skipper was left, as the heroes cornered him.

"Don't let him escape!" Jake said.

"Yes, we can't let him find Slittercold." Cameron said.

Skipper teleported away, avoiding attacks. He then re-appeared from behind, shooting dark electricity blasts at them.

"Coward, why can't you stay still!?" Cynthia asked, throwing another ice rock at him.

"Staying still is like paying a bill, it's no fun!" Skipper said, vaporizing the ice rock with another electricity blast. Skipper then threw a watermelon at them, causing an explosion.

"I forgot how annoying his magic tricks were..." Jake said.

"Where do you keep getting all these weird things?" Nick asked.

"How did you even get here anyways? I thought the Ancient Seal portal no longer worked." Madison inquired to Skipper.

"With these magic scissors Broodwing gave me!" Skipper said, holding them out. 

"Magic scissors, really?" Tori asked.

Madison quickly shot a lightning blast at the scissors, knocking them across the icy ground. Skipper went to grab them, but Cameron attacked him with a sword, as Skipper slid on the around him. He made an ice cream cone appear, and tossed it at Cameron, which exploded, covering his helmet visor in cream. Cameron angrily wiped it off, and slashed his sword at Skipper again, who threw a banana at the ground, but Cameron hopped over it. The heroes all formed a circle around Skipper, and jumped at him, but Skipper jumped up. However, Cameron grabbed him by the leg, and threw him to the ground. He grabbed Skipper by the arms, restraining him.

"You're coming with us." Cameron said.

"I don't think so!" Skipper said, as he levitated Cameron up, making him fall to the ground.

Skipper shot an electricity bolt from his right hand at Cameron, but used his knight stone to reflect it. It sent the blast reflecting to the machine that was stuck in the wall, making it explode. It made the whole cavern start to crumble and crack, as the heroes panicked.

"Oh no." Cameron and Skipper both said.

The Federation soldiers all got up and quickly got out of the dead end. Before Cameron and Skipper could escape, several ice boulders fell in front. The ground beneath them broke, as they fell through.

"AAAAHHHH!!!!" both yelled.

The remaining heroes and soldiers got out of the way, but tons of ice boulders blocked the previous dead end. 

"No, Cameron!" Madison yelled.

"They're okay, right?" Jake asked.

"Uh oh, poor Skipper..." one of the two dumb guards said.

"Let's go crew, search the area." a soldier said, as the soldiers ran off to find Skipper.

"Don't worry, I can move these." Cynthia said, making the ice boulders slide out of the way. The girls flew up over the hole, and tried looking below.

"Uh...which hole did they go down?" Audrey asked, noticing a multitude of different tunnel paths.

"Hold on, I don't want you to risk being harmed or lost. I'll send some spy drones to search for them." Zero said.

He activated a device, making several spy drones fly up from his backpack.

"Oh hey, it's that thing we used to spy on Ramos once." Nick recalled.

"We survived falling through one of those holes once, so they should be okay...right?" Madison asked.

"I hope so. We'll see what the drones find." Zero said, sending them flying through different holes.

Skipper and Cameron are seen sliding down an icy tunnel, and they go falling into a deep pit, smashing to the snowy ground. Both get up, as Cameron looks around.

"GAHHH, MY LEG!' Skipper yelled, holding his right leg in pain.

"Great, we're stuck." Cameron said, looking at the hole high above them.

"Blue knight, help my leg, because if you don't, in its place will soon be a peg..." Skipper requested.

"How do I know you won't attack?" Cameron asked.

"I promise, look, I'm in a lot of pain here!" Skipper said.

"Fine, I'll help you, but we're not friends." Cameron said, helping Skipper get up, and relaxed his leg.

"Thank you..." Skipper said.

"I'm not thanking you, it's because of you we're stuck here!" Cameron said.

"Hey, I'm not the one who deflected the blast into the machine." Skipper pointed out, as he sat down on an icy rock, annoying Cameron.

Cameron also sat down on a rock across.

"Whatever, my friends will find us soon...I hope." Cameron said.

"I wouldn't hope too much, this mountain is bigger than it looks. It'll take them a while, but the cold might do us both away..." Skipper said, shivering.

"Good thing I have this suit...kind of feel bad you don't have a way to be warm." Cameron said.

"No worries, I suppose I always saw an end like this coming..." Skipper sighed.

"Stop, don't act like that. There has to be a way..." Cameron said, looking around.

Cameron then saw something glowing in the snow, and picked a glowing orange stone out of it. He felt it in his hands.

"This thing is warm, maybe it can help you." Cameron said, handing it to him.

"This will be nice for now, but it depends how long the cold allows." Skipper said, feeling its warmth.

"Why do you keep rhyming?" Cameron asked.

Van Gordon is seen pushing the contraption without a partner, and still writing notes down.

"Must find out...who is boss." Van Gordon pondered, when Scott hit him in the head again with his metal hand.

"No goofing around!" Scott demanded.

Later, all the workers are seen sleeping at night. Van Gordon wakes up, looking around at holes in the ceiling, sleeping guards in front of the mineshaft, and Scott sleeping in a pile of algae. Van Gordon then sticks his pencil in one of the locks, jamming it in there. He manages to unlock the cuffs with it, and sneaks off. He activates his jet-pack, and quietly flies up through a hole. He appears in an algae field, as he looks around in surprise.

"Whoever boss is, they have their own algae field too..." Van Gordon said.

He wrote it down in his notebook while walking forward, but fell down another hole. He goes falling down into the area he just escaped from, and goes into the empty grinder hole. He falls out of it, landing in a pile of algae. He tastes it, and gets up.

"Yup, algae." Van Gordon said, when he heard a strange noise from a door up ahead.

He ate another piece of algae, and walked up to the door. He looked through a crack to see nematodes running around of what appeared to be an algae replica of Elana's Central Karmania castle. 

"A castle...made of algae? But what castle, it doesn't look like Posidonia castle..." Van Gordon said confused.

The nematodes punched holes through the castle-top, and one appeared out of a turret tower, looking angrily.

"Ooooh..." Van Gordon said, when he felt something pointing against his back, which was Scott's metal hand. "Oh no."

Back in the icy cavern, Skipper and Cameron still waited around.

"We should just try to get out of here now. I get the feeling we're not the only ones down here..." Cameron said, looking at several holes in the walls. They were up on ledges though, and impossible for them to reach.

"Indeed, but you'll never make it up there without my help. You'll have to put our differences aside for once." Skipper said.

"Fine, I'll work together with you, but it won't be easy. You're still a part of the Federation, and one of Ramos's right hand men." Cameron said.

"Heh, did you ever think that not everyone in the Federation is a terrible person? Some of us only work for them because we have no other choice. After all, they are the ones who control Posidonia. I wouldn't mess with them, though you and your friends are lucky to survive their mayhem..." Skipper said.

"Why do you work for them?" Cameron asked.

"I have a loyalty to the royal family. I was asked to protect each heir, but so far I failed to keep Ramos safe. Who knows what his parents will do to me when they find out..." Skipper said, shivering and nervous.

"But why remain loyal to people who may not care about you?" Cameron asked.

"I'm pretty sure they care about me, even if they don't show it that much...wish they would more. For the longest time I thought the Federation was doing the right thing, but I soon realized their goal was probably impossible. I still stood by their side out of respect, they're royalty. I can't just abandon them, there's no point in running anyways once you're in the Federation." Skipper replied.

"If you think you can't even win, then why did you want to control Slittercold?" Cameron asked.

"I didn't come up with the idea, the advisors suggested it. They thought we could use it against Karmania and you. If I didn't listen, they would've been annoyed, so I had to go out here to find it." Skipper said.

"Advisors?" Cameron asked.

"I've been filling in as an unofficial king since you sent Ramos flying away. We've still had no luck finding him, I am starting to accept he may never return. The Federation is slowly becoming divided without him. I don't know how to run a country, I was just filling in for fun, but now I'm feeling like a bum." Skipper said.

"I'm sorry we forced that on you, but we did what we had to do." Cameron said.

"No no, it's no big deal, I took it myself. It's just not what I expected. I'm only there until Ramos returns...which could take a while. The soldiers still haven't found him, so I wonder how likely it is they'll even find me..." Skipper pondered.

"Don't worry, I'm sure my friends will find us. I originally wanted to take you in because of this scheme, and if you knew anything about Ramos's whereabouts, but..." Cameron said.

"I swear, I don't know where Ramos is, or if I'm ever even going to see him again. I didn't even feel like doing this scheme, I just wanted to stay indoors, but no, I can't have any fun." Skipper said annoyed.

"Well when my friends find us, I'll let you go." Cameron said.

"Friends...you're lucky to have them. I don't have many true ones. I used to though. I remember the Federation arrested one of my best friends, but there was nothing I could do about it, if only I could make amends..." Skipper said.

"I'm sorry. I had to arrest one of my friends too, who we lost to the Federation..." Cameron replied, thinking of Drew. "Anyways, what was your plan to get us out of here?"

"I was going to say if we find the right spot to stand on, we could jump up at that hole, but I don't know how likely it is with my broken leg." Skipper said, still feeling pain.

"Can't you teleport us out, you love doing that a lot." Cameron suggested.

"My powers don't work like that. I can't levitate you that far either before you suggest that one." Skipper replied.

"Too bad you don't have those scissors...wait, they fell with the rest of the floor, didn't they?" Cameron realized.

"Yes, on the icebound ground, they must be somewhere around..." Skipper said, looking at the snow.

"Okay, please stop rhyming." Cameron demanded.

"Sorry, force of habit." Skipper replied, as he tried to look around for the scissors.

Cameron saw something in the snow.

"I think that's the scissors." Cameron said, headed to them, when they heard a loud growl.

"...What was that?" Cameron asked, getting his sword ready.

"Oh no...I know that sound, and when you do, you don't want to be around...sorry." Skipper said, getting up.

From one of the holes, a giant ice centipede crawled out, growling. It looked at both Cameron and Skipper, snapping its ice blades on the mouth together.

"Oh dear, it's an ice centipede, should've guessed. They lurk these deep caverns, and trust me, they aren't here to help us get out..." Skipper said.

Back at Van Gordon's story, Scott walks back across from Van Gordon, ready to fight, and Van Gordon was on edge.

"You know why they call me Scott?" Scott asked.

"Why?" Van Gordon asked.

"BECAUSE IT'S THE NAME MY MOMMA GAVE ME!" Scott replied, as he flexed angrily.

"I am not going back to the grinder." Van Gordon said sternly.

"No!?" Scott asked angrily.

"No." Van Gordon said again sternly.

"NOO?!?" Scott asked again angrily.

"No." Van Gordon said again sternly.

"NOOOO!?!?" Scott asked again angrily.

"No." Van Gordon said again sternly, making Scott stop looking angry.

"Okay then, can you at least take me with you?" Scott asked.

Two guards were seen taking the mineshaft upward, as Van Gordon and Scott hung onto it below.

"Algae chips or algae sandwich?" one guard asked.

"Algae sandwich," the other replied.

"How about algae toast or algae bread?" the first guard asked again.

"Algae toast," the other replied.

"Algae soda or...algae pizza," the first guard asked again, as they walked out of the mineshaft.

"There's no algae pizza-" the other replied, when Van Gordon and Scott punched both in their faces, sending them flying.

They gave each other hi-fives, when a large green blast was sent flying at Scott, sending him through a wall. Van Gordon touched the markings left by the blast, and compared them to the one in the forcefield.

"Green hole..." Van Gordon realized. 

The spider crab walks into the area, which had Ramos on it, with the blue jellyfish behind him. He stares at his mini-staff, which kept glowing green.

Back in the icy cavern, the ice centipede shot ice beams at Skipper and Cameron. One hit Skipper's right leg, making him yell in pain again. Cameron broke open the ice with his sword, helping Skipper avoid the blasts, deflecting them with his sword. Cameron then noticed how close its ice body was to the hole in the ceiling.

"I have an idea, if we can't get the scissors from it, maybe we can jump on its body, and use it to get out of here." Cameron said.

"It might work, but good luck taming it." Skipper said, as he shot a dark electricity blast at the ice centipede, knocking it back.

Cameron used the stone to increase his sword's power, and slashed at the ice centipede's body. It growled, and shot ice balls at them now. Skipper threw a muffin at it, as it exploded in its face.

"Seriously, where do you keep getting those things?" Cameron asked.

"Magic." Skipper replied, and threw a boomerang at it.

It fired another ice beam, as Cameron used his stone to deflect it back, which got into the centipede's eyes. It flailed around angrily.

"Now's our chance!" Cameron said, as he grabbed the scissors, and handed them to Skipper. "Here, get out of here. I can handle it."

Cameron kept fighting it off, and Skipper was about to open a portal with the scissors, but stopped.

"No, I'll still help you. You helped me." Skipper said, shooting another dark electricity blast at the ice centipede, knocking it over.

"Thanks, maybe some Federation people aren't all bad, regardless of our different sides..." Cameron realized.

Suddenly, one of Zero's spy drones flew down into the hole, seeing Skipper and Cameron.

"That's one of Zero's devices..." Cameron said.

"One of the drones found them, and yes, alive!" Zero said, relieving the heroes up above.

The drone floated back up through the tunnel, and the ice centipede got up, breaking the ice off its eyes. It growled, approaching the two.

"I'm getting sick of this thing." Cameron said.

"I concur, let me offer a quicker solution. Since your female friends can fly, I don't think we need this fiend anymore." Skipper said, as he shot an electric blast at the ceiling, making icicles and rocks fall on top of the centipede, burying it.

"Not bad." Cameron said, actually impressed, as he headed down beneath the hole. However, Skipper just stood there, holding the heat stone and scissors.

"Are you coming?" Cameron asked.

"No, you go on without me. I'm the only one here with the scissors, so it's for the best I find the soldiers to get us all back in one piece. Besides, I don't think your friends will want to see me." Skipper said.

They heard voices from another tunnel, on a ledge above them.

"I think I heard Skipper's voice this way..."

"Guess you won't be waiting long. See you." Cameron said, as Skipper hid behind a rock.

The girls floated down, picking Cameron up. Skipper looked from the distance.

"Are you okay? Where's that butler?" Audrey asked.

"We're both fine, but he escaped." Cameron covered, as they went back to the surface.

Back in Van Gordon's story, he looked at Ramos.

"Did you see it? It worked!" Ramos spoke to the staff, smiling, and laughed.

"...Ramos!" Van Gordon said surprised.

Ramos went from a happy look to a grim, annoyed look, and slid off the spider crab.

"Hello Gordon. It's been a while..." Ramos said, approaching him.

"You're...alive-" Van Gordon was saying, when Ramos pointed the mini-staff to him angrily.

"Don't act so surprised, it almost sounds as if you want me dead..." Ramos said.

"Please, no, I don't work for you anymore..." Van Gordon pleaded.

"I know that you idiot, I'm the one who fired you-WAAAH!" Ramos yelled, as the mini-staff sent him blasting against the wall. He hopped down from it, coughing.

"You see boys, this is why I need the other half of the gem. I have no clue what I'm doing with this thing..." Ramos said to the spider crab and jellyfish, waving it around.

"...Gotta go!" Van Gordon said, running off in a hurry.

"No, he's getting away, stop him!" Ramos ordered, as the spider crab and jellyfish gave chase. The jellyfish quickly grabbed Van Gordon, holding him up in front of Ramos.

"Just eat him, or electrocute him, I don't know..." Ramos ordered the jellyfish.

However, he heard odd noises from the mini-staff, telling him something.

"But I want him to die!" Ramos argued, and it spoke back to him. "Ugh...fine. Let him go."

The jellyfish let Van Gordon go, who was somewhat covered in jelly. Ramos approached him.

"I was gonna let you die...but my staff here told me to give you Scott's old job!" Ramos said.

"Wha..." Scott was saying, getting out of the hole, when Ramos sent another blast at his face, knocking him down.

"But...you don't need the henchmen now. You have spider crab, jellyfish, strange staff, algae, nematodes, and this base." Van Gordon pointed out.

"I know, it's pretty cool. But...there's more to be done. Always remember I am the hunter, always remember I am fear..." Ramos said eerily, making Van Gordon uncomfortable. "What do you say? How about we get the band back together? Me, you, Skipper, Zurtrax, and that other guy-"

Van Gordon then punched Ramos in the face, sending him knocking against a wall, and dropping the mini-staff. He was out cold.

"I'm...sorry. I think you've gone insane." Van Gordon said, trying to grab the staff, but the spider crab grabbed it with a string shot.

Van Gordon avoided both the jellyfish and spider crab. He quickly ran to the hole in the wall, grabbing Scott out of it, and avoided both of them again. He flew up in his jet-pack, and the jellyfish gave chase. He hung onto a hole, and kicked the jellyfish in the head, sending it flying down. He flew through the hole, as him and Scott made it out. On ground, they shook hands and went their separate ways.

In the icy cavern, the soldiers found Skipper, as they sled down the ledge.

"Hey guys, you finally made it! Thanks for saving me!" Skipper said, but none of them said anything to him, making him confused.

"Let's go." one soldier said, sounding annoyed.

Skipper opened the portal for them, as they all walked in.

"A thank you would be nice, I thanked you..." Skipper said under his breath, and the portal closed.

Back above, the heroes went out of the dead end.

"Glad you're okay Cameron, how was it down there?" Jake asked.

"We survived, but it wasn't easy. They're all gone, so there's nothing left for us to see here." Cameron said.

"Did that weirdo do anything to you?" Tori asked.

"Not really, he just...left me be." Cameron said.

"I guess not all Federation people are entirely bad." Audrey said.

"I still don't trust him, especially with the weird magic tricks he does to us." Cynthia said.

"Most of them are definitely weird in the head." Tori said, as they laughed, walking out of the caves.

Van Gordon is seen back in Pyrite Town, sitting on wooden steps.

"With strange staff, Ramos more powerful than ever, but more crazier than ever, too. He made me intriguing offer, but did I make right choice? Have idea, but must make sure I'm not saying it loud. One...two...three...okay. Must...warn mermaid girls and knight boys..." Van Gordon said, writing it down.

Van Gordon enters the Golden Seahorse later on secretly. He places a note at the kitchen window, and quietly leaves. The Chef goes to the window, and picks up the note. He tries to read the note, but can't understand any of the handwriting. He shrugs, throws it into a trash-basket, and goes back to work.

Skipper is seen limping through the castle halls, holding the heat stone. As he approaches his room, he sees a soldier nearby, and walks up to them.

"Commander." Skipper said to the soldier.

"...Skipper." the soldier said coldly and uncaringly to him, as he just walked off. Skipper seemed upset by this, as no other soldiers or senators there said anything to him, and kept walking.

Skipper headed into his room, still limping, and sat down on the bed. He placed the heat stone on a shelf nearby, and pulled out his mysterious bag from "Royal Heroes" under the bed. He looked at it, and put it off to the side, seemingly unsure about it. He folds his hands together, and goes into deep thought.

Notes/Trivia

-Character Debuts: Scott

-First time any of Ramos's former Season 1 crew have interacted with him this season.

-"My Little Seahorse" is a reference to My Little Pony.

-It is revealed Audrey's birthday is February 4th.

-The spy drones Zero uses to find Cameron and Skipper are the same type from "Princess".

-Second episode of Season 2 where Valina doesn't appear at all.

-Skipper reveals one of his friends was once arrested by the Federation, similar to how Cameron arrested Drew.

-Skipper confirms Ramos and Brak's parents are still alive. (since this was unclear to some people, I figured I'd confirm)

[TJ]

Great episode! Both plots were entertaining, and worked well for the shorter episode length this week. Skipper and Cam interacting (and relating to one another) was more intriguing than I first thought. Skipper definitely has a moral ambiguity, but  he's not all bad. I also liked the small battle against the ice creature, and Skipper's use of magic is always entertaining xDDD.

[SpongeOddFan]

Skipper isn't that that bad as I thought he was being bad guy. I could consider him being semi-protagonist, and as for Van's subject turn on Ramos was interest interaction, so i guess we'll see him return in time for season finale (which I hope). Overall, a short, fun & funny episode to read

[Metal Snake]

So Skipper, in spite of being a villainous magic court jester, is at least nowhere near as bad as this guy.

I really liked him in this episode and how he got Cameron to look at the Federation differently. It shows that there's more to him than just being a goofball. And oh boy, I like that foreboding ending.

[Rebel the Wolfgirl]

I really liked this episode! Good job, jjs.

[Jjs Goodman]

Just a note before reading: This two-parter is a crossover with my old spin-off "Storm Racers". It's okay if you haven't read any of it, I promise it'll be new user friendly, and I don't think you really need to read it to understand this. 

47. Ancient Ghosts (Part 1)

On another planet...

A red vehicle is seen driving across an alien terrain, and fires at something in the distance. From the smoke, a green and silver glowing robot appears, which fires a laser back. Out of the red vehicle, a mysterious red armored driver ejects himself out, landing on the ground. The vehicle stops in its tracks, as the figure approaches the robot, pointing an advanced gun at them.

"Alright Zythen, three paces and the duel begins." the stranger threatened to the machine named Zythen.

"Fine. No cheating, red." Zythen taunted, walking back a bit, turning around, as did the figure.

Both turned around and fired, standing still. Zythen began to spark, and fell to the ground.

"No, I'm hit!" Zythen yelled.

However, he put one foot on the ground, stopping the body from collapsing.

"But I'm not out!" Zythen laughed.

"But I know I hit you!" the stranger replied back, about to fire again.

"Thanks for not cheating red, but I never made that promise. You just hit my magnet shield. Time for me to go." Zythen taunted, holding a shield that the stranger hit. Zythen fired several plasma bullets from its stomach at the stranger, exploding everywhere.

"I'll track you down!" the stranger said.

"Even to another dimension? I'm off to make a deal that will destroy two worlds." Zythen said, walking off.

...

The heroes are seen fighting Valina, her revived guardian group, and White Knight in the Central Karmania Bazaar. Valina shot an electricity blast to Madison, who blocked it. Cassidy sent two water blasts at Tori, knocking her into Cynthia. White Knight clashed with Cameron, Zero, Jake and Nick. Audrey sent gusts of wind at Peyton, while the Mai doppel attacked Cynthia with Briar.

"Fools, just give up now and join me for when I rule every kingdom. I have the power of two kingdoms, you are no match for me!" Valina bragged, using the staff to send shock waves everywhere, hurting the heroes.

"We were able to beat you the other day at the mall, so." Cynthia said, throwing a rock at her.

"That was just luck." Valina said, vaporizing the rock.

"Is this luck?" Madison asked, shooting an electric bolt at Valina, but she stopped it. She sent it back at Madison, knocking her into a building. She landed on a table where Karmanians were having dinner, and they all stopped, looking at her.

"...Hi." Madison said, flying out.

Tori sent a water blast at Peyton, but she blasted through it with a sound wave.

As they all kept fighting bravely, Valina sent another powerful electricity wave from her staff, combined with the elemental powers of Cassidy, Briar, Peyton and the Mai doppel, which sent all the heroes flying everywhere. A multitude of royal guards appeared, coming to their aid, aiming their weapons at Valina and her gang.

"Nice try, but not enough. I could finish you all off, but this isn't a fair number. I have more things to do..." Valina said, teleporting away, as the heroes got up annoyed.

"She is getting on my nerves..." Jake said.

"Tell me about it." Audrey said, sighing.

They are later seen at Ranen's dojo, telling him what happened.

"We've been fighting her nonstop, this has been getting ridiculous. Is there anyway to defeat her permanently?" Cynthia asked.

"Yeah, it's like fighting yourselves, since they are guardians too, and fighting yourselves is pretty weird." Nick said, as Ranen pondered.

"Hmm...there is one place that may be able to help you. There is an old temple in Western Karmania, called the Mystic Temple. Legends say it contains knowledge of all previous guardians, along with great power. If you can get to it, maybe you can seek an answer of how to defeat Valina. I will warn you though, it is not a walk in the park. This place is filled with traps and haunted by ancient ghosts. It likes to mess with your heads, showing you strange visions..." Ranen explained.

"Can't be any more strange than a monster that uses bubbles to attack us, a clown butler, a monster on roller-skates, or an insane ex-guardian who wants to rule Karmania by destroying us, and also tried brainwashing her son." Tori said.

"True." Audrey replied.

"Where in Western Karmania is this temple?" Cameron asked.

"It is far north of where the Battlestar base used to be. Keep going that way and you will know when you find it." Ranen replied.

"How will we know?" Nick asked.

"When you see a temple, you will know." Ranen replied.

"Alright, let's go." Jake said.

A portal is seen opening in the Central Karmania forests, as Zythen and several green robots like it appear out of the portal.

"This is Karmania? How disgusting. Come my Rarks, let us find the master's remnants. Wait...what is this specimen?" Zythen spoke to the Rarks, and stopped when he saw Diggy in the distance.

Diggy is seen back outside of his trailer, walking around nervously. A flashback shows him meeting Valina earlier.

"I am going to fight the guardians at the Bazaar. I will most likely win the battle, and after that I have some things to attend to. When I come back, you better have some useful information for me, and me only..." Valina said to Diggy.

"Of course, that's what I do best!" Diggy replied, ending the flashback.

"Oh jeez, I think I've gotten myself into something I can't get out of. If I anger Valina, she'll vaporize me. If I anger Broodwing, he'll vaporize me. If the guardians and knights find out what I've been doing, they'll throw me in that jail. Ehh... I'd rather be vaporized." Diggy said, when Broodwing appeared.

"That can be arranged." Broodwing said, startling Diggy.

"Woah! Y'know, someone should really attach a bell to that water-cooler head of yours..." Diggy said, referring to the glass jar around his head.

"Listen, I'm just as sick of Valina as you. Brak and I are planning to create an unstoppable army of Slayers to use against everybody." Broodwing said.

"What will make this one different than past times?" Diggy asked.

"It will be the largest army ever assembled, the guardians and knights will be no match for it alone, not even Valina's group can handle it." Broodwing said.

"Perhaps I can be of assistance..." Zythen said, approaching the two with the green Rarks.

"Who are you?" Broodwing asked, confused.

"They look like Slayers, are they a sneak preview of the next edition?" Diggy asked.

"No...state your business." Broodwing said suspiciously.

"I am Zythen, the leader of the Omega Code from planet Senato. We came here to search for some of our master's missing remnants. However, I couldn't help but overhear that that you are assembling an army, Broodwing. I am here to make a deal." Zythen offered.

"How do you know me?" Broodwing asked.

"I know all about you, including your Slayers, along with the black markets you run in Posidonia and here. I have been hopping around the worlds for a while. I was a resident of The Under for a brief time in my hiding days, and got to know about you from the residents there." Zythen said, surprising Broodwing.

"Ah yes, my kingdom. Sorry, I don't know every resident there. I will gladly help you, what do you want?" Broodwing asked.

"It's nothing much, I just want your help in finding an ancient temple. In exchange, I will give you all of these Rarks to help your army." Zythen said.

"I don't know what temple you are referring to, but I could use more soldiers. It's a deal." Broodwing said.

"Good. There is a temple around here containing my master's energy, but I can't find its location." Zythen replied.

"Don't worry, I'll help you. Bring your friends, and we'll add them to the army. Diggy, try to find out anything about this temple." Broodwing said, walking off with Zythen and the Rarks.

"Y-yes sir!" Diggy saluted.

Later, Diggy is seen giving food to his customers, when the heroes walk by him. He places a plate on a table, and walks eagerly to them.

"Hey, I didn't order this!" a customer complained.

"Hello friends, what are you up to today?" Diggy asked to the heroes, annoying them.

"I'm 87.56% sure that information is classified." Zero said.

"We're off to find a temple in Western Karmania, and we're in a hurry, and you're kind of slowing us down, so yeah, please move." Cynthia said rudely to him.

"Sorry dude, this is important stuff." Nick said, as the heroes kept going off toward Western Karmania.

"Jeez, that missy needs manners. Wait...a temple, eh... Ah ha, that's it!" Diggy said, going behind the trailer to make a call. He pulled out the Broodwing phone, and opened it. "Broodwing, I know what temple your robot buddy is referring to. It's in Western Karmania, the guardians and knights are headed there."

"Excellent. Zythen will go there to intercept them." Broodwing reported back, ending the communication.

Broodwing is seen in a rocky valley, which had tons of Slayers and Green Rarks lined up. Brak was in front of them with a samurai Karmanian beast which had spikes on its shoulders, Broodwing, and Zythen.

"They are all lined up. These are a lot of robots, even more than the Battlestar's invasion..." Brak said, impressed.

"Yes, but we must do this carefully. I have found what location Zythen is looking for, and the guardians are headed there." Broodwing explained, showing Zythen where the temple was on a map.

"Seems faraway. I don't know if my circuits are in the best condition to handle these so-called "guardians"." Zythen pondered.

"I will aid you, I know where this temple is." Brak said.

"Your generosity is appreciated, I will take three of my Rarks for back-up." Zythen said, as they walked out of the lines, and followed him.

"Take these, these are all I have left for now." Broodwing said, handing Brak two Green Slayer triangle balls.

Valina approaches Diggy, who was sitting on a chair.

"Do you have something worth my time?" Valina asked.

"Yes. The guardians and knights are headed to a temple in Western Karmania, figured it might interest you." Diggy said.

"...A temple...no, they can't!" Valina gasped, and ran off in a hurry. 

"That went easier than I expected." Diggy said, sighing in relief.

The heroes are seen approaching the Talking Tree in the clearing, nearing Western Karmania.

"Hello friends! It's a beautiful day outside, birds are singing, flowers are blooming..." Talking Tree sang, whistling.

"Hey guy, we're just going there to find a temple." Nick said.

"Have fun with that!" Talking Tree said, as he kept humming with his eyes closed, and the heroes walked away.

They approached the remains of the Battlestar base, noticing it's still in ruins.

"Still smells like ash." Audrey said.

"Alright, north. Maybe we can make this faster..." Madison said, making the girls transform.

"Good idea, you four can fly up and see what you find." Cameron said.

The girls flew around, as the guys also powered up, searching through the deserts.

"Watch out for sand scorpions around these parts, they are not friendly." Zero warned, carefully walking through the sand.

Cynthia saw something odd in the distance.

"I think I found something!" Cynthia yelled, and went in closer to see a boulder. "No, it's just a stupid boulder..."

"Hey, that's no ordinary boulder, it's a rock, a big, beautiful rock!" Nick said, walking up to it.

Tori looked at something, seeing a temple looking structure.

"Guys, I think I found it!" Tori yelled, pointing north.

However, a scorpion tail shot out from the ground, grabbing her by the leg. She sent an aquatic blast at the tail, breaking loose from it. Several other tails popped out, as sand scorpions rose out of the sand, hissing. The heroes came to Tori's aid.

"What are those?" Madison asked.

"Sand scorpions, irritating creatures that hide in the sand around here. I would've warned you, but you all can fly, so..." Zero said.

"Looks like I didn't fly high enough." Tori said, shooting another water blast at one.

Audrey sent sand blowing in their faces, and twirled one in the air. Madison zapped one, making it retreat. Zero also shocked one, and sliced at its face with his sword. Cameron, Jake and Nick attacked the last one, making it retreat. Cynthia sent a rock flying down on the last sand scorpion, squishing it.

"Aw, that's mean." Audrey said.

"Anything that attacks us I'm not going to be nice to." Cynthia said.

"Alright, that definitely looks like a temple. I hope it's the right place..." Jake said, walking towards it.

"Pretty sure Ranen would've told us if there was multiple temples." Madison said.

They reached the temple, which had many stairs leading up to the entrance. There was strange writing carved across the stones.

"Any idea what this stuff says, doc?" Jake asked.

"I am analyzing for a match...cannot identify it. This language is too obsolete and ancient for my programming." Zero said.

"Oh well, I doubt it would've told us much other than some weird cryptic clues." Tori said, as they headed up the stairs.

They went inside the temple, and looked around at strange drawings in the entrance, depicting things such as portals, the eighteen elemental symbols, and the Heart of Karmania. 

"Alright, where are the traps? This seems too easy so far..." Nick pondered, and analyzed the area with his fin. "Hmm...that's strange, it's giving me nothing."

"Looks like we're going into this blind." Cameron said, as they went to the end of the room to see four different paths.

"Great..." Madison said, annoyed.

"Yeah, I don't really feel like splitting up, but I guess we have no choice. Pick your partners." Jake said.

"Eh, I guess I'll go with the doc." Nick said, as him and Zero went down the first path.

"I can go with you Jake." Audrey said, confusing everyone else.

"Uh...sure." Jake said, as both smiled, and they went down the second path.

"I'll go with Cynthia I guess, unless that's an issue." Cameron said.

"Why not, this could be a bonding adventure." Cynthia shrugged, as they went down the third path. Tori and Madison went down the last one.

As Jake and Audrey headed down their path, Jake saw the red armored stranger up ahead.

"Wait...who is that? Another knight?" Jake asked.

"Who?" Audrey asked, looking ahead, not seeing anything.

Jake looked again, and the stranger was gone.

"I just saw someone, but now they're gone. Then again, Ranen said this place would mess with our heads, so let's stay close together." Jake said.

"Yeah, let's." Audrey said, as they headed into a room up ahead. There were odd symbols across the walls, and as Jake looked behind, the entrance was gone.

"Uh oh, the door is gone...Wait, where is Audrey?" Jake asked, seeing she wasn't there now, confusing him.

Audrey was seen in the same hallway, and wondered where Jake was.

"Uh...Jake? Where did you go? Kind of rude to go on without me..." Audrey said, as she went into the same room, but instead of an empty room, Audrey went into something else entirely.

Audrey appeared in a church, wearing a wedding dress and holding flowers. Jake was in a wedding suit across from her, smiling. Nick was seen as a pastor in front of them.

"I now pronounce you two married, or something like that. I'm not even sure why I signed up for this job, but yeah, kiss each other now." Nick said.

Audrey's jaw dropped and face went red, as Jake leaned in to kiss her. Jake was seen still in the empty room, confused.

"If this is some joke, I'm not finding it funny..." Jake said, sighing.

"It's no joke. You're stuck here forever." a skeleton spoke to him from the corner. Jake turned around startled, seeing the skeleton.

"...You can talk?" Jake asked, creeped out.

"Oh right, I should introduce myself. Hi guy, I'm Billy Bob, and I've been trapped here for 3,000 years. Yeah, you can't get out, sorry. But at least I finally have a buddy..." Billy Bob's skeleton said, as Jake's jaw dropped.

Zero and Nick are seen walking down their hallway, as Nick whistled. One of Nick's feet pressed a tile, and the hallway rumbled.

"That's not good." Zero said.

Walls began to rise up from the floor, as the two ran, avoiding the rising walls. They made their way into a room, as the final wall closed behind them. 

"Come on temple, that old cliche trap? You could do a little better than that." Nick criticized. 

They looked in the room to see there was an upside-down snowman statue in the center, and there was a missing part of the body on the ground. A sealed door was on the other side.

"I presume we have to fix this statue to open the other side?" Zero calculated, as he was about to pick up the rock and place it on the statue.

"I'm not sure if it's that simple. Seems like it may activate a trap. The snowman being upside-down could mean we need to flip it first... Maybe, I dunno, I'm just guessing because I don't know if a puzzle for an ancient temple on guardian magic would be that simple." Nick rambled.

"...Fair enough." Zero said, as they removed the other pieces of the snowman statue, and put the rock on the ground at the bottom, followed by the other parts. The door opened up on the other side.

"Hey, that worked...possibly. We don't know where it goes though." Nick said, unsure.

"True, but it's the only way to go." Zero said.

They went through it...and appeared in the exact same room, with the snowman statue flipped upside-down again, and the rock on the ground again.

"...Alright, guess the overcomplicated way didn't work." Nick said, as he analyzed the statue with his hand, waving it through the air. "Still got nothing. Yeah, not even my weird psychic interpretations can help us."

"Perhaps the easy answer is the right answer?" Zero asked.

He put the rock at the top, and the door opened again. They went through it...and came into the same room again, with the snowman statue reset. Both sighed angrily.

Cameron and Cynthia are seen going down their path, and Cameron steps on a tile. Spears begin to shoot out of the wall, as both quickly made it to the other side, avoiding the spears.

"Good thing none of those hit me..." Cynthia said.

They made it to a cliff, and the bridge was broken. On the other side, they saw the same red stranger that Jake saw.

"Is that...Jake?" Cameron asked.

"I don't know. Hey you over there, can you hear us?" Cynthia yelled, and the stranger looked over to them.

"Who are you?" the stranger echoed.

"I'm Cynthia, and this here is Cameron. I'm a guardian and he's a knight. We're good." Cynthia echoed.

"I don't know...you could be another illusion. How do I know you're real?" the stranger echoed back.

"How do we know you're real?" Cameron echoed.

"You got me there." the stranger laughed.

"We'll fly to the other side, I promise we're good. We'll help you out of here if you're lost." Cynthia echoed.

"Alright." the stranger replied.

Cynthia grabbed Cameron and flew across, landing on the other side. They looked at the stranger, in their red tech armor.

"What are you, some kind of superhero?" Cynthia asked.

"You look like a knight, but you're not..." Cameron said.

"I'll explain more later, when I feel I can trust you. Sorry, this temple has been giving me a headache. I came here to find something, but I've just been trapped in a maze filled with tricks. I don't know what's real and what isn't anymore." the stranger said.

"Follow us, maybe we can get a different result for you." Cynthia said.

They walked down the hallway, but Cameron stopped when he saw a mysterious door. 

"Hey guys, what's through..." Cameron was saying, when Cynthia and the stranger were gone. "Alright, I guess I'll catch up with you..."

Cameron curiously went through the door, and appeared in a mysterious room, as the door vanished. There are weapons on the walls, and knight stones on display. Three mysterious figures were seen meditating. They wore white masks, and guard outfits. The one in the center rose up.

"Cameron Rhodes, we've been expecting you." the guard spoke.

"Who are you?" Cameron asked.

"We are the guards of this temple. State your business here." the guard said.

"We came here for knowledge on how to defeat the sorceress Valina. Where can we find that knowledge?" the guard asked.

"It can be found in the center of the temple. The only way a guardian can figure out how to defeat another guardian is to make their way through the puzzles and trials this temple has." the guard said.

"Are you a trial? Or are you real at all?" Cameron asked.

"I'll let you judge that. I must warn you, Rhodes. The red knight...something worries me about him." the guard warned.

"What is it? He's been fine lately." Cameron questioned curiously.

"For now, but I fear the darkness will eventually consume him. It pulls at him. Things can change before you know it. And you may never be strong enough to save him." the guard said, as the other two rose up, confusing Cameron.

They held out sword handles, and ignited them to show yellow laser swords.

"Prove your strength against us, and we will let you leave. Fail, and you will die." the guard said, as Cameron got his sword ready, and they cornered him.

Madison and Tori are seen going down their path, and came to a dead end.

"That's just great." Tori said.

"Back the way we came, I guess." Madison said, as they floated back, but something was different. There were now two hallways in the intersection that weren't there before.

"I'm pretty sure the hallway didn't look like this before..." Tori said.

"Yeah, I don't feel like splitting up again. Which way do you think we should go?" Madison asked.

"I say the right, it is usually the right way...bad pun, I know." Tori said, as they floated down the right path.

They looked behind and noticed the passage was sealed. They floated up ahead, and a light was up ahead. They went into it, and arrived in a jungle area. They saw seven strange figures up ahead. They were wearing red, blue, green, yellow, orange, white and purple colored outfits. The red one was the same stranger with Cynthia and Cameron.

"Who are they?" Tori asked.

"Hold on, they might not be real. Remember this place likes to mess with our heads." Madison said, as they carefully floated toward the seven.

However, vines from the ground shot up in front, blocking their way. Madison and Tori cut through the vines, to see the seven were gone. Suddenly, more vines shot at them, as they tried to attack them back, but were sent smashing into the wall by one. Tori sliced it in half with a water cut, and they broke free. More vines shot everywhere, and they saw a hole in the ceiling.

"Let's get out of here, I don't want to fight these things forever!" Madison said, as she shocked more vines with electricity.

The two floated up to the hole, but a vine got in the way. They combined their water and electric attacks together at the vine, and it exploded. They quickly flew through the hole, appearing in another hallway, as the hole sealed up from the vines.

"That wasn't much of a challenge." Tori said, when they heard a rumbling noise. "I spoke too soon."

From the other side of the hallway, a flood washed down, as the two quickly floated in the other direction away from it.

Back in Audrey's room, she was about to kiss Jake, when her vision ended. She was seen kissing a wall instead, and realized it, spitting it out.

"Ew...but wait, huh? What just happened?" Audrey asked, confused, looking around in the hallway.

Jake is seen still trapped in the empty room, listening to Billy Bob.

"Yeah man, 3,000 years is a long time. I remember when I first came into this room that long ago, it was a nice day out. Then I got stuck here, and died, as you can tell. But I've found rambling stories to myself helped pass the time..." Billy Bob's skeleton spoke, and Jake was irritated.

"Come on, there has to be a way out..." Jake wondered.

"Anyways, on day 367 of being stuck in this room, this weird guy visited. He was this pink starfish named Patrick. He asked these weird questions, and we shared crazy stories to each other. But then one day he disappeared...I kind of wonder if he even existed at all actually..." Billy Bob rambled, as Jake got increasingly annoyed.

"But wow, that was NOTHING compared to day 666 of being stuck in this room. That was one of the BEST days of being in this room, you wanna know why?" Billy Bob asked.

Jake had enough, and cut Billy Bob's head off with his sword, as the skeleton head rolled onto the ground. Jake held his sword angrily, and suddenly, appeared back in the hallway, bumping into Audrey.

"AH!" Jake yelled.

"AH!" Audrey yelled, as they faced each other, relieved.

"Sorry...thought you were someone else. So glad to see you. I got stuck in this weird room with an annoying dead guy, I think it was an illusion thankfully..." Jake said.

"I'm glad to see you too. I got stuck in this room where...never mind, it's not important." Audrey said, blushing.

They noticed a new path appeared.

"Alright, I hope this doesn't do anything weird to us." Jake said, as they walked to it.

In Zero and Nick's room, they looked at the snowman statue curiously, unsure what it meant. Nick was smashing his sword against the stone door, trying to get it to open again, with no luck.

"I guess we might be stuck here forever..." Nick said, sighing.

"Don't say that. Wait...that's it! We won't solve it at all." Zero said, as he sat down.

"What do you mean?" Nick asked.

"When there is no solution, we just don't solve it. This puzzle has no answer." Zero said.

"Giving up, eh? I guess it's better than what I was trying." Nick said, as he also sat down.

Suddenly, the original door opened up.

"FREEDOM!" Nick said, as they both ran out of it, appearing in a hallway.

Cynthia and the stranger looked around for Cameron.

"Where did he go?" Cynthia asked annoyed.

"He must have fallen into an illusion trap. Don't bother going back, or we may never regroup." the stranger said.

"I can't just leave him...hopefully he'll find a way back." Cynthia said.

"Cynthia, it's me." a familiar voice said.

Cynthia then looked up ahead to see Elana, waving.

"...Elana? No, that can't be her..." Cynthia said, shaking her head, but Elana was still there.

"I know the way out, follow me." Elana said, running off.

"Who are you talking to? There's nobody there." the stranger said.

"Elana, wait!" Cynthia said, floating down the hall.

"Don't!" the stranger said, chasing Cynthia.

Cameron is seen still dueling the temple guards, as one struck his sword out of his hand. He put his stone in the way, which reflected a laser sword attack from one. Cameron then grabbed a katana from the wall, and defended himself. He quickly struck a laser sword out of one's hands, and pushed them to the ground. He tripped another, and kicked them aside. He grabbed one of their laser swords, and clashed both it and the katana with the last guard's laser sword. Cameron increased their power with this stone, and knocked it out of the guard's hands. He pointed both swords to the guard, as they bowed to the ground.

"Well done. You are worthy to pass. Go and meet your friends." the guard said, as a door opened, as the guards got up.

"Wait, before I go...do I know you?" Cameron asked to the main guard.

They took off their mask to show Tristan Smith (Zurtrax)'s burnt and scarred face, making Cameron gasp. 

"Go." Zurtrax spoke, as Cameron went through the entrance.

"Sir, we have intruders." the guard said to Zurtrax.

The guards appear in front of Brak, Zythen and the green Rarks, who were walking down a hallway.

"Out of our way." Zythen said, firing a plasma beam at one, but they deflected it with their laser sword.

"You will not go further." Zurtrax spoke.

"Wait...you are Tristan Smith." Brak said, surprised, as they attacked each other.

The heroes are all seen coming out of their paths into a large gray room, which had more symbols. All the paths behind closed.

"Yay, you guys are okay... This is really you guys, right?" Nick asked.

"Pretty sure it is. Did you guys see weird things too?" Tori said, as all their paths closed.

"That is an understatement." Zero said.

"I saw Elana, but it was just an illusion. At least she led me to you guys..." Cynthia said.

"Yeah, I'd rather not talk about what I saw. Anyways...who are you? I saw you as an illusion earlier..." Jake asked to the red stranger.

"So did I..." Madison said.

"Yeah, you have some explaining to do." Cameron said, approaching them.

"What happened to you?" Cynthia asked.

"Sorry, I saw a room and curiosity got the best of me." Cameron replied.

"Alright, I'll come clean. I don't know who any of you are, but you may know me. My name is Nathan Deeler, yes, the boat racer." Nathan said, taking off his helmet, shocking everyone.

"I've heard of you, but how did you get here? What's that fancy stuff you're wearing?" Jake asked.

"Alright...this is going to sound crazy, so bear with me. I'm the leader of a team called the "Undersea Force" who protected a planet named Senato from aliens, demons, robots, and lots of other insane things. We've gone our separate ways, but I still sometimes check in to protect the place. Recently, an old enemy resurfaced who I thought was long gone. We destroyed their master two years ago, but their master's dark essence remains have formed into cores, which have spread across the universe. Our team has been trying to find the cores for the past two years. They are hard to see, and harmless to an ordinary person, but dangerous if the wrong person collects enough of them. After fighting this enemy, I tracked them to this weird place. I landed in a desert, and found a reading of a core in this temple. I figured maybe the enemy went in here, so I explored around. Problem is I've had no luck whatsoever finding the core or the enemy, I've been lost here for hours until Cameron and Cynthia found me." Nathan explained, nearly out of breath.

Everyone wasn't sure how to respond.

"I would say this sounds crazy and I don't know if I should believe any of this, but considering what we deal with daily...I can believe it. I'm also not sure how to feel that a famous boat rider now knows our secret identities, it's bad enough Rotwell already knows." Madison said, sighing.

"Don't worry, it's safe with me. Trust me, mermaids are the least crazy things I've seen." Nathan said.

"I've never heard of this "Senato", but considering how many unexplored places there are out in space, it's not impossible to exist." Zero said.

"That sounds like something out of a really crazy anime." Audrey said.

"Well...we have a team too, split into two groups. We're the knights, I'm Jake, you know Cameron, that's Professor Zero, and that's Nick. Since I'm the leader of the knights, and you're the leader of a team, I think we could get along." Jake said.

"I also like to go by Nick Carson, but you can just call me Nick." Nick said.

"We're the guardians, I'm Madison, you know Cynthia, that's Audrey, and that's Tori. We control elemental powers, and working with the knights, our mission is to protect all kingdoms in Karmania, which is the dimension you're in." Madison said.

"We originally came here to seek information on how to defeat an enemy of ours." Cameron said.

"Haha, sounds like we're not too different. Well then, I'll help you find what you seek. Maybe I'll also find what I want. I just hope the way out of here is better than what I experienced leading up to here..." Nathan said, and got out his Nathan sword.

"Where did you get your high-tech armor?" Zero asked.

"An old friend made it for us. Fancy stones you got on your arms." Nathan said.

"Yeah, these stones help magically transform us into these knight outfits. I could take or leave the capes though, but the rest of the suits are cool. Where are your other teammates?" Jake asked.

"Places. But perhaps you can meet them in due time..." Nathan said.

"Alright, there's only one path from here. Let's stick together." Madison said.

Before they went further, a laser blast went flying in their way. They looked behind to see Brak, Zythen and the Green Rarks.

"It's that guy we still don't know the name of, and a weird robot thing!" Nick said.

"That's Zythen, the one I was tracking. Looks like he teamed up with one of your enemies." Nathan said.

"Finally, we found you." Brak said, as he activated the two Green Slayers, which flew up.

Suddenly, Valina, Cassidy, Briar, Mai's doppel and Peyton appeared in their guardian forms from out of the same path.

"Who are they!?" Zythen asked angrily.

"Don't forget to invite us to the party. This will be fun." Valina taunted.

"I get the feeling this time, these are real." Cynthia said, ready to fight.

"Why couldn't they be illusions?" Madison asked, sighing.

To Be Continued...

48. Ancient Ghosts (Part 2)

A stranger is seen riding into Posidonia Fields on a yellow motorbike. However, it breaks down in front of Gus's MotorAuto Shop. They get off and enter inside, heading to the counter.

"Hello there, what can I do for ya today?" Gus asked.

"Had a bike breakdown. Could use some assistance, I've got the money." the stranger said, handing doubloons to him.

"Sure thing! Just show me it." Gus said, putting on goggles.

The stranger showed him to the bike outside, as Gus looked at it impressed.

"This is one fancy bike you got here. This model ain't used too much anymore, shame, I think they're underrated. What made you pick it?" Gus asked, as he began to fix the motor.

"Eh, it reminded me of my first motorbike. Same color." the stranger replied.

"Ah, I getcha. Alright, I see the problem...yup, there we go. Thanks for your service, it should be good to go." Gus said.

"Thanks dude." the stranger said, hopping on.

"Say, what's your name?" Gus asked.

"Call me Dash." Dash said, riding off.

A purple boat racer is seen zooming around a race course, and makes it to the finish line, as the crowd cheers.

"Laneld finishes first for the Posi Grand Prix!" the announcer cheered.

Laneld is seen getting out in his purple tracksuit, walking through the press and fans. A manager then approaches him.

"Great job sir, but you'll have to take autographs later. You got a call from someone..." the manager said, as Laneld took the phone.

"Hello?" Laneld asked.

"Laneld, it's me, Kane. Nathan needs our help." Kane spoke on the other end.

Back at the temple, Valina's group, Brak, and Zythen had cornered the heroes.

"How will this go? Will both guardian teams work together, will the sorceress side with us, or will the guardians side with us?" Brak asked.

"Never in a million years would we team up with her!" Cynthia said.

"And we still don't even know your name, so." Nick said.

"Allow me to educate you then. I am Brak, and I will destroy you all right here, with the help of Zythen." Brak said, as Zythen fired a multitude of plasma lasers with the Green Slayers and Rarks.

"Brak? What kind of a ridiculous name is that?" Tori asked, shooting a water blast at Valina, but she avoided it.

"Okay, the knights and Nathan can handle those guys, while we handle Valina. Does that work for everyone?" Madison said.

"Works for me." Nathan said, as he charged to Zythen.

"Wait for us!" Jake said, as the knights began to attack Brak, the Rarks and Green Slayers.

"These robots seem so alien-like, but very obsolete." Zero said, slicing at a green Rark.

"They are from another planet, so they are indeed alien." Nathan said, swinging his sword at Zythen.

"I bet they are nowhere near as good as Zero, who by the way, is half-cyborg. Fun fact for you." Nick said to Nathan, by his side, as he jumped up to attack a flying Green Slayer.

"Sounds like you have interesting stories, I'd like to hear them another time!" Nathan said, slicing his sword at Zythen's armor, but it barely put a dent in him.

Nick was on the Green Slayer, and jammed his sword into its eye, causing it to go crashing to the ground, exploding. Cameron jammed his sword through a green Rark, cutting it in half. Madison and Valina shot electricity balls at each other. One of Madison's missed, and went exploding into the other Green Slayer.

"Alright, one time I'm happy I missed!" Madison said, as Cassidy hit her from behind with a water blast. "Come on!"

Jake sliced his sword at Brak, who countered with his staff, blocking the attacks. He then punched Jake, sending him flying against the wall. Zero and Cameron destroyed the last two green Rarks, as their pieces fell everywhere.

"My minions!" Zythen said angrily, as he pushed Nathan aside, and fired plasma missiles everywhere from his stomach, hitting almost everyone. Valina went floating down a bit, as Cynthia sent a rock smashing at her, knocking her against a wall. The girls all launched an onslaught of attacks at her, knocking her down to the ground.

"Ha, that's for earlier!" Tori said, as she was about to attack her again, but the other four ex-guardians floated down in front. They launched attacks back, as the girls countered.

The knights and Nathan were attacking both Brak and Zythen, who were strong. Zythen launched green electric blasts at Zero, but he absorbed them, and fired them back at his stomach, damaging his weapons.

"H-How!?" Zythen asked, sparking.

"I'm immune to electricity, friend." Zero said, slicing his sword at him, but Zythen knocked him back with laser beams. Jake then sliced at Zythen again, and he dropped a canister.

"Oh no..." Nathan said, as he stopped fighting Brak.

The canister broke open, releasing several dark cores that Nathan described. They floated around, and all entered Brak.

"What the...AAAHHH!!!" Brak yelled, as he glowed red and black. Black and red armor grew over his body, and he glowed a red, sinister aura.

"That doesn't look good." Cameron said, fighting off Zythen.

"It isn't. He fused with some of Zythen's master's cores, giving him their power. Who knows what he can do-" Nathan was saying, when Brak shot dark and red blasts at everyone else in the room, knocking them all down. One hit Valina, as she screamed in pain.

"Ugh...I'll admit I didn't plan this through. No matter what you learn though, it won't help you defeat me." Valina said to the heroes, as she teleported away with the ex-guardians.

"That makes things slightly easier, but we have that guy to deal with now..." Audrey sighed.

"Master, are you in there?" Zythen asked to Brak.

"Don't know what you're on about, but I feel so much stronger. I feel unstoppable..." Brak laughed, clutching his hands together, and shot more dark red blasts at the heroes.

"He's too strong..." Cynthia said, throwing a rock at Brak, but he jumped up and sliced through it with his gauntlet's blades, making pieces fall to the ground.

Nathan, the knights and girls all sent attacks to Brak and Zythen, but Brak just bursted through them, and launched more powerful ones back. Zythen fired plasma missiles everywhere, as Jake activated his knight stone to shield them from some. Suddenly, a large door opened up, and a gold temple guard appeared, holding a wand.

"That's enough, fiends." the guard said, as he waved the wand, as golden bubbles appeared around Brak and Zythen.

"No!" Brak yelled, trying to break free.

"I banish you from this temple!" the guard said.

"So be it then, but I will be waiting for you guardians and knights, with the army..." Brak laughed, as he and Zythen disappeared.

"Army?" Tori asked.

"That doesn't sound good, but at least we're safe for now." Nathan said.

"Thanks for the help, but who are you?" Madison asked, approaching the temple guard.

"I am the Keeper of the Mystic Temple. Come with me." Keeper said, as they all followed him.

They went into the room, as the large door closed behind. Looking around, they were in a library with tons of spell books. In the center of the room was a large, floating, teal crystal.

"Welcome to my library. Here is information on all guardian powers, and elements in general. But I know neither of those are what you seek." Keeper said.

"So why did you tell us that?" Cynthia asked.

"I have to promote my merchandise somehow, I don't get many visitors anymore, or at least good ones. Anyways, I know you've come here to seek an answer." Keeper said.

"Yes, we want to know how we can defeat the sorceress Valina, without killing her. I kind of don't want to do that since she is still Trent's mom..." Madison said.

"Ah, that is simple. Just take that staff away from her. When kept on too long, its power will make you go crazy." Keeper said.

"...That's it?" Tori asked.

"Yes, that's it. Of course, nobody said getting it away from her would be easy. But once you take it away, and destroy it, she can't use any of its powers anymore. Make sure she doesn't conquer anymore kingdom's magical items though, or it'll be harder to get away from her." Keeper said.

"How do we destroy it?" Jake asked.

"It wouldn't be fun if I told you everything, would it? You will see in due time." Keeper said.

"Well...I guess it's a start. Thanks." Madison said.

"Want to stay and read some of my books?" Keeper asked, holding two up.

"No thanks, maybe another time. We kind of have to stop Brak from destroying Karmania with all the power he has now." Jake said.

"Ah, okay." Keeper said.

"Wait, maybe you have something I seek too. I came here looking for a sinister core, and haven't found it anywhere else in the temple. Do you have it?" Nathan asked.

"A sinister core? I did find this weird thing possibly resembling what you speak of a long time ago..." Keeper said, holding up a jar, which had the dark red core floating inside of it.

"That's it. Can I have it? I can't let anybody else, especially Zythen, get them." Nathan asked.

"Go ahead, I'm not using it for anything." Keeper said, giving him the jar.

"Thank you, Keeper." Nathan replied.

"Can you teleport us out now? We don't feel like going back through your maze of weirdness." Cynthia asked.

"Sure." Keeper said, as he clapped his hands, and all of them appeared outside the temple.

"Alright, he mentioned an army, that doesn't sound good..." Cameron said, when the knights got communications from Ranen on their devices.

"Urgent: I have received reports that a massive army of robots has been assembled in the valley near the Groundslug Queen's nest. It is one of the largest armies you may ever face, so you will need as much help as possible to deal with it. I will help too." Ranen said, ending the communication.

"Alright, I'll call Flinn." Zero said.

"I wonder if Trent would like to battle too, even though he doesn't want to be with us right now..." Nick pondered.

"I guess I can try asking him." Jake said.

"Those are the rest of your allies?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, sorry. Who else do you have?" Madison asked.

"Quite a few. Don't worry, let's just say I made some calls earlier..." Nathan said, smiling.

Ranen is seen getting his sword out of a case in the dojo. Jake is seen knocking on Trent's door, telling him about the battle. Flinn is seen in his Ottelia office, receiving a communication from Zero on his knight bracelet. Flinn and Trent are seen meeting up with the heroes in the dojo.

"I know I said I wasn't going to be involved, but I'll help you guys when the numbers are stacked against you." Trent said.

"Aye, with an army that size, I had to help you out." Flinn said.

"My friends should be arriving...now." Nathan said, looking at his watch.

Six vehicles are seen parking in front of the dojo. The strangers got out in their armor, and holding their helmets by the side. The heroes went outside the dojo, coming face to face with them. Nathan then went to their side, holding his helmet as well.

"Meet the Undersea Force. Guys, meet the guardians and knights of Karmania. This is Dash, this is Laneld, this is Nora, this is Zelleo, this is PJ, and last but not least, this is Kane." Nathan introduced, as they all waved.

"Zelleo? That's an...interesting name." Cynthia said.

"It's a long story." Zelleo said, laughing.

"Oh hey, we met you once outside Ramos's castle when he had the party, even though he was using it as a cover for an evil scheme that I'm sure you wouldn't know about because this is your first time meeting us. I'm Nick, Nick Carson, but you can just call me Nick." Nick said, shaking Laneld's hand.

"...Alright, I'm just going to pretend I remember that to make it easier." Laneld said.

"Only girl on the team, eh? I'm Tori." Tori said to Nora.

"Yeah, but I don't mind. You get used to it. So you can turn into mermaids? That sounds pretty cool." Nora said.

"I'm Professor Zero, or "doc"." Zero greeted to Zelleo and Kane.

"A professor? We could get along." Kane said.

"It's sweet that we're working with two famous boat racers." Jake said, referring to Nathan and Laneld.

"If you're wanting an autograph, now's not the time." Laneld said.

"I'm PJ, I was the last official new member of the team. I remember snowboarding in Ottelia once, good times." PJ said, shaking Flinn's hand.

"Both the latest new team members, eh lad? Looks like we have something in common then." Flinn replied.

"Alright, we've had our introductions, now it's time to get ready. This is going to be a difficult battle, but I believe all of us can do it if we work together." Nathan said.

The army of Slayers and Rarks are seen ready to go, moving around wildly. Broodwing stood in front of them with Brak, Zythen and the samurai beast.

"Slayers, it is an honor to have you fighting by my side. A lot of you probably will not make it out alive, actually, in fact, a lot of you won't, and that's okay. Do your best, by annihilating the guardians and knights. With Brak's new powers, Zythen and his crew, and Skatana by your sides, you are an unstoppable force." Broodwing spoke to them.

"I will slice them into pieces, Lord Broodwing." Skatana said, reading his katana.

"Good. I will sit back and enjoy the show. I will intervene if need be." Broodwing said, flying up onto a cliff.

"Here they are." Brak said, seeing all the heroes approaching in the distance.

The Undersea Force had their armor and weapons ready. The guardians and knights were all powered up, and Ranen had his sword ready too.

"That's a lot of robots..." Zelleo said.

"We've faced these things so many times, it should be a piece of cake, just a tedious one." Madison said.

"They have more allies than I anticipated..." Broodwing said, watching from above, a bit worried.

"ATTACK!" Brak ordered, as all the enemies began to attack at once, and the heroes charged.

Nathan, Jake, Trent, and Madison attacked a bunch of Slayers and green Rarks at once. Madison made multiple ones explode, as Jake and Nathan sliced through them. Nick, Zero, Laneld, Zelleo, and Kane sliced through more Slayers and Rarks, cutting them in half. Ranen clashed his sword with Skatana's blade. Flinn, Cameron, and Dash all attacked Zythen with their swords, and he sent plasma missiles at them. Nora was with Cynthia and Tori, attacking more robots with them. Cynthia spun Nora around, as she sliced off the heads of Rarks and Slayers. Nora then hopped off and landed on an orange Slayer, jamming her sword through its head. Two more approached behind her, as Cynthia sent a boulder hurling at one, and crushed one in a whirlpool. Audrey and PJ both helped Ranen find Skatana, as Audrey sent gusts at Skatana. Brak then fired a multitude of dark red blasts at everyone, but they either dodged or resisted it. Madison, Jake and Nathan attacked Brak, while Trent went to help Audrey and PJ fight Skatana. Several Green Slayers went flying down, shooting lasers, but Cynthia, Tori and Nora attacked them, making them explode.

"Nice teamwork!" Nora said, giving a hi-five to Cynthia and Tori.

Trent sent laser arrows at Skatana, Slayers and Rarks, making the Slayers and Rarks explode. Zero, Nick, Laneld, Kane and Zelleo were still working together, slicing through the robots. Zero electrocuted one, making it explode.

"Not bad, reminds me of my vehicle's powers." Kane said, shooting a laser gun at a black slayer.

Ranen still clashed his sword with Skatana.

"You're too old for this, Ranen!" Skatana said, knocking him aside.

"Maybe I am, but they aren't." Ranen said, as Audrey sent him twirling in a gust of wind, and Trent sent laser arrows into the gust, hurting Skatana. He fell, as PJ then punched him in the face. Skatana then got up and angrily clashed his katana with his PJ's sword.

Flinn, Cameron and Dash attacked several orange and blue Slayers around Zythen, making them explode. They attacked Zythen, but were unable to scratch much of his advanced armor.

"This one be resilient." Flinn said, as Zythen fired more plasma missiles.

Brak fired more dark red blasts, which rained down across the battlefield with Zythen's plasma missiles. Madison, Jake and Nathan still tried to fight off Brak, but he sent more blasts. Madison shot an electricity beam at him, but he deflected it with his staff, sending it flying at Trent.

"Trent!" Madison yelled, but Trent sent laser arrows back at Brak.

"I'm alright, surprisingly!" Trent said.

"Let's focus on him later, and get rid of his buddy first." Nathan said, pointing at Zythen with his sword, as the others were struggling to fight him.

Madison shot electricity balls at Zythen, as one went exploding into his chest, damaging his plasma missile supply.

"No!" Zythen yelled, as Nathan then jammed his sword right into the chest.

Dash also attacked the chest with Madison and Jake, as Zythen tried to shoot electricity back at them to no avail. Dash and Jake jumped away, as Nathan sliced his sword through the metal, and broke off his right arm. Jake and Dash then sliced off the left arm by working together.

"N-n-no...spare me!" Zythen begged, struggling to walk.

Madison quickly threw two electricity balls at his stomach, as they made him short-circuit. Nathan sliced at him again, as Zythen overheated and exploded into ashes, with no mechanical parts remaining.

"Ouch." Dash said, stepping on the ash.

"Now he can't ever reform himself." Nathan said.

"That's one threat out of the way, but we still have all of them." Jake said, referring to Brak, Skatana and the remaining robots.

Skatana kept fighting off the heroes, as Flinn and Jake came to their aid. Audrey sent another gust at Skatana, as PJ attacked a blue Slayer guarding him. Ranen then clashed swords again, and disarmed Skatana, pointing his blade at him with PJ, Flinn and Jake.

"No, I won't see an end this way!" Skatana said.

"Then you better close your eyes." Ranen said.

Audrey, Ranen, Jake, Flinn and PJ attacked him all at once, as he went flying to the ground.

"Flinn, go ahead and scan him since you haven't done this yet. Could be a nice learning experience." Jake said.

"I'll give it a shot, and put this fiend behind bars." Flinn said, flipping open the scanner. It marked Skatana guilty. Audrey then sent an attack on the containment unit, which was blasted at Skatana.

"Whoa, that's some cool technology. How does it work?" PJ asked.

"Zero made it, he's the genius of our team. When a Karmanian's fighting energy is low enough, which the scanner can detect, it will decide to imprison them or not depending on the crime when we judge them." Jake explained.

"The geniuses of our team are Zelleo and Kane, though it was originally Zelleo over there." PJ replied, as Zelleo and Kane were seen slicing in half black Slayers together.

The heroes that defeated Skatana then fought off remaining Slayers and Rarks, making them explode. Cynthia, Audrey, Trent, Nora, Tori, Kane, Laneld, Madison, Nathan, Zelleo, Zero, Nick and Cameron are seen surrounding Brak, who fired dark red blasts. 

"Time to cool this guy down." Tori said, as she and Audrey sent an ice beam around him, which he tried to break free from, but the rest distracted him with attacks. The ice beam froze him solid, but he bursted out.

PJ, Flinn, Jake, Dash, and Ranen were seen finishing off the remaining Rarks and Slayers. Ranen sliced through two green Rarks. Dash destroyed two black Slayers, as Jake sliced in half two blue ones. PJ and Flinn attacked remaining orange and green Slayers, destroying them with the help of others. All of the robots had been defeated, as their remains covered the entire field.

"I feel bad for whoever has to clean all of this up." Tori said.

Only Brak remained, as they all surrounded him in a circle.

"You fools have no chance of defeating me with this power, even with all your strength combined!" Brak said, as he sent a wave of dark red energy from his staff at them.

"Brak is powerful, but they are outnumbering him, and I have no back-up..." Broodwing said angrily.

They all kept attacking Brak, but he was able to handle himself. Nora and Kane attacked him from both sides, but he grabbed, tossing them into Jake and Cameron. The girls sent all four of their elemental attacks at him, but he resisted. Zero sent electricity blasts at him, Trent sent laser arrows at him, and the Undersea Force fired some of their laser guns at him. Brak sent dark red blasts at them, knocking them down. Cynthia sent another boulder at him, knocking him down to the ground. Everyone sent attacks at him, and he got up smoking, laughing.

"Dang, this guy is like titanium..." Nick said.

"Wait...I see a crack in his armor. Perhaps if we break that off, he will lose the power." Zero noted, analyzing it.

"Then let's attack him with everything we have." Dash said.

Brak sent more dark attacks at them, but Cameron used his stone to deflect one back precisely at the crack in his armor, and he then sliced at it again, opening it further. Madison shot lightning at him, but he dodged. Cynthia then rose up rocks around his body, but he broke out of them. Audrey tried to lift him up with a whirlwind, but Brak stayed on the ground. Tori then sent a water blast at him, but he broke through it. The Undersea Force and the knights all attacked him at once, as he shot dark red blasts at them back. In the midst of the fighting, Zero aimed, and sent a shock beam right into the crack, electrocuting Brak's body.

"GAHH!!!" Brak yelled, as he felt the armor began to disappear.

Everyone attacked his armor at once, and it vanished off of him in a red mist. He lost his powers, as the cores flew around. Zelleo then caught them in a machine, which had other cores inside the glass. Brak tried to defend himself with his staff, but Madison sent him flying to the ground with an electric ball. He got up angrily, coughing. Broodwing then flew down in front, stopping them.

"That will be enough." Broodwing said, showing himself to them for the first time.

"Who are you, and what's with that stupid glass tube around your head?" Cynthia asked.

"I am Broodwing. You may have heard of me before." Broodwing introduced.

"I haven't." Laneld said snidely.

"Yeah, I literally have no idea who you are, pal." Nora said.

"I'm referring to the guardians and knights." Broodwing said.

"You..." Ranen said.

"Oh yeah, that guy we learned about that one time. About time we met you face to face." Nick said.

"I feel like us meeting you is supposed to be important, but we just blew up over like a thousand robots, so I kind of don't care at this point." Cynthia said.

"You really think you can take on all eighteen of us?" Jake asked.

"No, just here to give a warning that you messed with the wrong batfish. Let's go, your highness." Broodwing said, helping Brak up, who had smoke flying off of his body.

"...Highness?" Madison asked.

"You didn't know? Brak is the king's brother, and next in line to the throne." Broodwing revealed.

"Ramos has a brother? I feel like we're supposed to know that, but we've never seen him in the past with the royal family." Madison said.

"Ugh...leave me be, I'll handle myself. You can take them on if you want." Brak said, as he got up and walked off.

"Where are you going?" Audrey asked.

"Somewhere you won't find me." Brak said.

"Should we chase him?" PJ asked.

"Nah, let him go. He had enough of a beating for today." Madison said.

"What about that weird guy?" Laneld asked, pointing his sword to Broodwing.

Broodwing then flew up, avoiding blasts, and landed on the cliff.

"You won this round, but I'm not done!" Broodwing said, as he ran off.

"Glad that's finally over." Trent said.

"Seriously though, Tori is right, I feel bad for the soul that has to clean this all up." Nick said, looking at the robot debris. Everyone laughed.

Back outside the dojo, everyone powered down, and the Undersea Force took off their gear.

"Thanks for helping us, we appreciate your assistance very much." Ranen said to them.

"It was no problem, felt good to fight evil again." Nora said.

"Yeah, felt nostalgic to work with the crew again." Kane said.

"Without you guys appearing at the temple, I may not have ever made it out." Nathan said.

"What will you guys do now?" Madison asked.

"For me, I'm going back to my normal life. I have races to win!" Laneld said.

"Take this Zelleo, you can get rid of it with the rest." Nathan said, handing Zelleo the jar with the core from the temple.

"Will do." Zelleo said.

"Even though we only knew you all for like twenty minutes, I'll miss all of you." Nick said.

"Take care." Cynthia said.

"If you ever need our help again, we'll be around. Farewell, and good luck with your adventures." Nathan said.

"Good luck with whatever you do as well, like finding the rest of those cores." Madison said.

They waved goodbye, and got into their vehicles. Nathan got in with PJ, as they all drove off. 

"So now what?" Tori asked.

"Since my grandmother isn't around to make food, want to get pizza?" Audrey asked.

"Sure, why not." Madison replied.

"What's wrong with your parents' cooking?" Jake asked.

"It's nowhere near as good, trust me." Audrey replied.

"You coming, Trent?" Cameron asked.

"Since my mom isn't cooking dinner anytime soon, sure." Trent said, walking off with them.

"I could go for some as well." Flinn said.

"As I, we had a hard battle, we all deserve to eat." Ranen said.

"Alright, but who is going to pay for it? Because it's not gonna be me, making that clear right now." Nick said.

"Not me." everyone else said, but Jake was last to say it.

"Sucks for you." Cynthia said.

"I don't have any money..." Jake said.

"Fine, I'll pay for it. You're welcome." Zero said.

"Thanks doc." Jake said.

Cameron stopped behind, seemingly unsure. He recalled Zurtrax's warning about Jake. He then recalled what Ranen said about "ancient ghosts" and the "temple messing with your head" though, and shrugged it off. He caught up with the rest, as they headed to the pizza place.

Valina is seen outside the cave with White Knight and the ex-guardians.

"How did it go?" White Knight asked.

"Not so good, admittedly. That fool named Brak intervened, and made the playing field unfair. The guardians may also know how to defeat me now, but I won't make it easy for them. But no matter, I know who this Brak works for now, and who else has been trying to take over Karmania. I spied on them near the end of their boring battle." Valina said.

"Who is it?" White Knight asked.

"Their name is Broodwing, one of those gangsters that makes those robots. I wouldn't care if he just wanted to destroy the guardians, but I can't have any competition trying to take over." Valina said.

"Perhaps we could use some of his own creations...against him." White Knight said, as Valina smiled.

White Knight is seen holding two blue Slayer balls and two orange Slayer balls in hands.

"That will be more than enough." Valina said.

Broodwing is seen behind an abandoned building, and walking through a junkyard in it. He puts one foot up on a rock, and ponders.

"That didn't go the way I planned. I must find another way to beat both the sorceress and guardians at this game..." Broodwing pondered, when two orange Slayers approach him from the right side, and two blue Slayers approach him from the left side.

"There he is." an orange one said.

They ready their weapons, as Broodwing is confused. He looks up, as they were ready to attack. They charged, as Broodwing attacked back. He grabbed an orange one's hand, and pushed the robot aside, and sliced through a blue one with his wings. He lets out more slices at them, and delivers one final slice to each by swinging his wings around. The robots short-circuit, as they explode behind him.

"Well then sorceress, if it's a battle you want, it's a battle you will get!" Broodwing said angrily, flying off.

Laneld's vehicle is seen breaking down in front of Gus's MotorAuto store.

"Oh come on! I knew I should've refueled this thing..." Laneld said angrily, as he went inside, and Gus gasped.

"L-L-Laneld, the famous boat racer, in here!?" Gus said, surprised.

"Yeah, my boat broke down, and kind of need it fixed. I know you sell bikes though so I might be wasting my time." Laneld said.

"No no, I'll do it, for free!" Gus said.

"Being famous has its perks." Laneld said, surprised, as Gus put on his goggles.

Gus went under the boat, and after a bit of time fiddling around, fixed it.

"Alright, should be good to go. Before you go, can you sign my wrench?" Gus asked.

"I suppose." Laneld said, signing it.

"I'll preserve this forever. Take care now!" Gus said, teary-eyed.

Laneld got in the boat and drove off. Gus then displays the wrench with Laneld's signature on a wall.

____________

Notes/Trivia

-Character Debuts: Nathan, Nora, Zelleo, Kane, Dash, PJ, Zythen, Green Rarks (all Storm Racers characters), Keeper, Skatana and "Billy Bob"

-Area Debuts: Mystic Temple

-Storm Racers Notes: Zythen reformed himself sometime after the events of "The Unknown", and has been collecting Malvor cores around the universe ever since; Nathan still has his Nathan Sword from "Nightmare in Red".

-This is a crossover with Storm Racers.

-Second official two-parter so far, the first being "Secrets".

-Billy Bob mentions Patrick Star appearing as an illusion to him once.

-It is revealed the knight scanners only can judge a Karmanian if their "fighting energy" is read as low.

-First time the heroes meet Broodwing face to face.

-

 

Zurtrax is revealed to possibly have been reborn as one of the temple guards, but it is left up to interpretation whether what Cameron saw was an illusion or not.

[TJ]

• "I'm off to make a deal that will destroy two worlds"...CROSSOVER TIIIIMEEE.
• The Guardians are basically getting their asses kicked by the old!Guardians. 
• I agree that they may be having trouble with the fact that they're kinda fighting themselves. Am I sounding too much like Nick? Whatever, off to Mystic Temple!
• Rarks. Been a looong time since I heard that word. Crying already from the Storm Racers nostalgia.
• "I'm 87.56% sure that information is classified."  Haha, nice Zero!
• Nice Job Breaking It, Heroes. Never give out the place you're going to for a mission! 
• Lol, Cynthia squishing the sand scorpion was a bit overkill - literally xD.
• Don't split up! Don't split up!
• Oh god, is Audrey/Jake making a comeback?!!! Maybe it was just a small ship tease .
• OMG! The temple is making Audrey imagine a wedding between her and Jake! This is so hilarious.
• I wonder who this stranger will turn out to be..
• So, basically the heroes have to overcome the temple's mindfucks in order to get the info on how to defeat Valina. Seems a little over the top, but I won't question the temple guards .
• Lol'd at Audrey kissing the wall xD.
• Oh hey, a Patrick mention. Makes me curious about what happened to him.
• Lol, Jake slaying Billy Bob set him free.
• Nice solution, Zero. No solution at all.
• Nope, that's definitely not the real Elana.
• Damn, Cameron was pretty good in the sword fight.
• Oh wow, it turned out to be Zurtrax!
• NATTTTHHHHAAAAAANNNN!!!!!! Oh god, just fuck me up with the SR feels already. I can take it!
• Wow, looks like the Undersea Force has been pretty busy the last few years since we've seen them.
• Yes, yes, yes! The team up is starting!
• Dash, Laneld, and Kane! Can't wait to see the original team all assembled again.
• Uh oh.. Brak + the power of the master cores = chaos.
• Wow, the answer to defeating Valina was really simple, especially for all the crap they've just went through to get it .
• Alright, sounds like all the Jjsverse heroes are about to assemble, haha.
• Yay, the Guardian/Knights finally meet the Undersea Force! 
• Lol'd at Cynthia cracking on Zelleo's name.
• Laneld and Nick shaking hands. Iconic!
• Haha, glad that the Guardians pointed out Nora being the only girl on the team. 
• Also, I liked PJ and Flinn's meet, and how they were both the newbies.
• Nice team work going on in the battle so far.
• Damn, Zythen's take down was brutal! Love it.
• "No, I won't see an end this way!" Skatana said. "Then you better close your eyes." Ranen said. LOL, Ranen.
• I liked the Flinn scene with the scanner. Shows that he's still learning.
• All the heroes panning around Brak. Nice!
• Looks like the combined efforts of the Guardians, Knights, and Racers aren't enough to beat Brak. Come on, guys!
• Great use of Cam's stone deflection thing!
• Yes! Looks like they just handed Brak his ass.
• Broodwing introduction. This should be good.
• Yes, retread Brak/Brood. You suffered an embarrassing loss xD.
• I liked the heroes laughing about the poor person who'll have to clean up the aftermath of the battle, lol.
• Aww, I'm legit about to cry at the Undersea Force taking off once again. I like their ending goodbyes with the MG Heroes.
• Post-Battle meal. Awesome! At least they're not eating shawarma like the Avengers xP.
• Nice of Zero to pay for the meal .
• Hmm, I'm hoping nothing insane happens with/to Jake.
• Looks like Val is gearing up to take out the competition.
• #BroodwingVsVal2K17
• Great ending with Laneld/Gus, lol.
• Overall, excellent crossover. The first part did a great job setting up how everything was going to come together. The illusions and traps in the tunnel were certainly a mindfuck, but I think the heroes managed well. And if they hadn't been there, who knows how long Nathan would have been stuck. The second part had all the crossover goodness! The Guardians, Knights, and Undersea Force meeting each other and talking, and then one of the most epic battles in the history of Mystic Guardians. I liked the aspects of the battle scene. The team work between the multiple Jjsverse heroes, the side convos, Flinn getting in some good field experience, and the absolute slayage of all the enemies. Well done, Jjs. In the end, it was nice to see the Undersea Force again, and I certianly hope they keep doing good.

[SpongeOddFan]

This is great crossover episode, and I loved seeing UF again for nostagia. Broodwing's intro to heroes was interesting face to face, and revealing Brak's the king's brother. I actually legit laugh a bit hearing on how to defeat Val in a sinple way.

Overall, it was an excellent episode.

[Metal Snake]

I legit just realized that I forgot to comment on this holy shoot

This episode did a fantastic job bringing the characters of Storm Racers and the characters of this show together. Broodwing really needs to take a lesson from the Power Rangers though with how numbers don't equal strength and good battle strategy. 1,000 x 0 is still nothing. And I love how it ends with Laneld's signature. I guess he signed Storm Racers off.

I wonder how the Season 2 finale will try to top this.

[Jjs Goodman]

49. Darkest Knight

Gride is seen imprisoned inside of the cave still, trying to break free from the electric cuffs.

"Let me go, sorceress!" Gride demanded angrily. Valina and White Knight approached him. "Perhaps...I could join you."

Deckel's face was seen inside of the sword center.

"You are trying to reason with her? What are you doing?" Deckel asked annoyed.

"No thanks. Besides, what would you offer that I don't already have?" Valina asked.

"I am a superior enough warrior for her, we don't need anybody else." White Knight replied.

After saying that, White Knight felt his head hurt, and he began to spark. He kneeled to the ground, and kept sparking. He groaned in pain, and it eventually stopped. Valina looked at this annoyed.

"Not again..." White Knight said, getting up.

"Seems like your strength is fading, knight. Sorceress, if you separate Deckel from me, I will be a valuable asset to you. My strength will be on your side." Gride bargained.

"On second thought, perhaps I can reconsider. I may still have those separation crystals around..." Valina said, looking around for them.

"Sorceress, I don't think this is a good idea..." White Knight said, and he briefly sparked again.

"I could use a new henchmen, considering your current state." Valina said annoyed.

"Why is this happening to me?" White Knight asked, feeling sparks again from his knight stone.

"There cannot be two of the same knight at once. Since my son can still transform, it is causing a malfunction in the knight stone grid." Valina explained to him.

She then found the separation crystals, and put them around Gride in the cell.

"I can't believe this, you're working with the person who destroyed my life!?" Deckel asked angrily from the sword.

"I never really cared about your issues. I'm just doing what's best for me." Gride said smugly.

Valina casted the spell around the crystals. They made Gride glow purple, as Deckel was splitting out of his body. The two were separated, as the watch went blank. Deckel grabbed the sword angrily, and pointed to it Gride.

"You villainous scumbag, you will pay for this!" Deckel said, swinging his sword to Gride, but the electric bars appeared in his way, as Deckel was stuck in the cell. 

"Sucks for you. Now "Gride", help me get rid of the guardians and knights." Valina said.

"Of course, it will be my pleasure." Gride said, as he reached his dragon claw through the cells, grabbing Deckel's sword from his hand. "Now this is solely mine..."

"What about my problem?" White Knight asked to Valina.

"There can only be one white knight. Either you or my son has to go. But I don't want either of you harming him, I'm making that clear..." Valina said.

"Understood. Maybe I can get him to surrender the stone without need for violence..." White Knight said.

Trent is seen playing basketball with his friends and Madison. As Trent is in the open to catch a ball, he feels a spark from his bracelet. As the ball is passed to him, his head hurts, and he holds it in pain. The ball then hits him in the face, confusing Madison.

"Are you okay, dude?" one of his friends asked.

"Yeah man, you're never like this." another said.

"I'm fine, just...got something in my eye." Trent covered.

"If you say so. Maybe his girlfriend can do better!" one said, as they threw the ball to Madison, and she caught it. She smiled.

"I'm not really...uh, athletic, but trust me, don't underestimate me." Madison bragged, dribbling the ball.

She moved forward while dribbling, and passed it to Trent. He then passed it back to Madison, and she threw it at the net, getting it in.

"Wow, didn't expect that to work." Madison said, surprised.

"Looks like you picked a cool choice for your first girlfriend." one of Trent's friends said, impressed, and slapping him on the back. Madison overheard this and blushed.

Later, after a few more games, the friends had enough, and left. Madison and Trent waved goodbye to them.

"You have some cool friends." Madison said.

"Yeah, it's good to have them when your parents aren't." Trent said.

"It feels weird. Valina is still your mom, I don't want you to be parentless, as crazy as she is..." Madison said.

"Maybe there's still a way to reason with her." Trent wondered.

"I don't know, she seems so far gone. But I guess it's not impossible, if we could find ways to free you and Elana, maybe there's hope for her." Madison reassured.

"She wasn't always this way, at least I think. Then again, this was before I learned who she truly was, but still... At least I have you by my side." Trent said.

"Haha, yeah. I'm surprised I'm your first girlfriend, I thought you would've dated someone else before..." Madison said.

"I've had girls crush on me before, but I just wasn't interested in them-" Trent replied, when he felt sparks from his bracelet, and felt his head hurt again. "Ouch..."

"What's wrong?" Madison asked.

"Lately I've been feeling constant headaches, and pain from my stone. I think something might be wrong..." Trent said, feeling it, as more sparks came out.

"Yeah, we should get that looked into..." Madison said.

The heroes, along with Trent, are seen at the Sky Kingdom, outside the Council temple. Cesare and Luna greeted them outside.

"We've got a problem." Jake said.

"We are aware. Tom has been waiting for you." Cesare said.

"I hope he wasn't waiting too long." Tori said, as they walked inside.

They went into the knight stone room, as Tom was looking at the stone grid.

"Hey dude, we're here." Cynthia said, as Tom turned around.

"Yes, I've been expecting you, well not you, mainly the Trent kid." Tom said.

"Yeah, my stone has a problem. It keeps sparking, and when it does, I get weird headaches. I think they are connected." Trent said.

"They are connected. You see, look at the stone grid. There are two white stones, colliding together. The grid cannot handle two of the same colored stone at once. One of the two white knights has to go away." Tom said, showing the two white stones on the mystical grid, colliding together to form sparks.

"What do you mean by go away? Like on a vacation?" Nick asked.

"No, one of them will have to leave this world." Tom said.

"So...go to outer space?" Nick asked, as Tom face-palmed.

"No, I mean pushing up daisies, bite the dust, et cetera. Either Trent or the evil knight will have to literally be destroyed, which will restore balance to the grid." Tom said, making the heroes, especially Trent and Madison, nervous.

"We've taken that chump plenty of times before, destroying him shouldn't be hard." Cynthia said.

"I dunno, it feels weird. He was a part of me, I'm not sure if I can bring myself to end him. Also, what if he ends me? I'm not properly trained." Trent wondered.

"Don't worry, we can give you the necessary training." Cameron said.

"Yeah, we'll help you out, that's what friends are for." Jake offered, making Trent feel slightly better.

Deckel is seen still inside of the cell, and looks at White Knight on the other side.

"Hey you." Deckel spoke to him.

"What?" White Knight asked annoyed.

"Let me out of here, please." Deckel asked.

"I cannot do that. Valina would not like it." White Knight replied, walking around hesitantly.

"She may not, but it is clear she is not caring for you anymore. After all, she doesn't seem too concerned if you are destroyed due to those issues you seem to be having..." Deckel argued, as White Knight sparked again from the stone.

"She created me. She must still care. It's just out of her control..." White Knight pondered.

"If you say so. She must still care a lot to leave you behind like this, and leave you stuck watching a loser like me..." Deckel said.

"She doesn't need my assistance in defeating the guardians and knights." White Knight replied.

"She had no problem taking Gride though, seems like perhaps you've been...replaced." Deckel replied, making White Knight ponder, and he sparked again, getting frustrated.

"...I suppose you may have a point. But that doesn't mean I'll let you out." White Knight said, and he felt his head hurt again.

"Maybe this will change your mind: To end your suffering, I can make a portal for you to Posidonia. You'd be able to meet the Trent kid and settle things." Deckel offered, as White Knight thought it over.

"You are bluffing, the sorceress took away the powers she gave you." White Knight replied.

"Indeed she did, but I am a Magic elemental, and I can learn old tricks." Deckel replied.

"...Fine. But why can't you just make a portal from your cell?" White Knight asked.

"I'm not going to make things that easy." Deckel taunted, annoying White Knight.

"I will set you free then, but I can already sense I will get in trouble when the sorceress finds out..." White Knight said, making the electric bars disappear. 

"Don't worry, she won't find out." Deckel said, walking out, and opened a portal with his hand. Both walked through it, and it closed behind.

Trent is seen training with Zero, Nick, Jake and Cameron inside the dojo. 

"Is it just me, or did you guys see a bunch of weird nematodes lurking around outside? They creep me out..." Nick asked.

"Just ignore them, and they will ignore you. Be glad they haven't damaged anything...yet." Zero said.

"Alright, just go easy on me, I'm still new to this. I have somewhat of an idea on how to use the laser arrow thing, but not so much in terms of karate." Trent said.

"We'll try to go easy on you." Jake said.

"The key word is "try"." Zero said.

A montage passes, as Trent trains with the knights. He is seen clashing his dagger sword against Cameron's blue sword, as Cameron knocked it out of his hand and tripped him. Trent quickly grabbed the dagger and got back up, as he dueled Nick. Zero attacked as well, and Trent was able to defend himself. They took a break, and continued training. After a while, they finished.

"I think you might be good to go." Jake said.

"We'll also be there for help." Cameron said.

"So are you an official part of the team yet?" Nick asked.

"Eh...maybe for now, I guess." Trent said.

They regrouped with the girls, walking through the park at night.

"Feels good to have a nice stroll without any weird things coming to attack us." Audrey said.

As soon as that was said, White Knight jumped out of the shadows, standing in front of them.

"Spoke too soon..." Audrey sighed.

"I did not come to fight." White Knight said, as Madison held out the heart.

"That's hard to believe." Tori said.

"I came to speak to Trent..." White Knight said, as both of their knight stones were sparking.

"Let me guess, about this?" Trent inferred.

"You are smarter than you look. In order to stop this irritation, there are two choices: Either one of us has to be destroyed...or you could surrender your stone to me." White Knight offered, as the heroes had unsure looks.

"I don't think that's a good idea..." Madison said.

"I agree, I've had some not so good ideas in the past myself, but that is one very not good idea." Nick said.

"Yeah, I don't really trust you with this stone. You'd just use it for evil." Trent said.

"Then fight it is. You and I, alone. We will fight at Mud Valley in thirty minutes." White Knight said, walking off.

"Fine." Trent said, as White Knight kept walking.

White Knight met up with Deckel around a corner.

"Open a portal." White Knight demanded coldly.

"Going back so soon? If you insist." Deckel said, opening it. White Knight went in, and Deckel closed it. "I'm just going to walk around and enjoy the scenery here..."

He looked around the corner, and saw the heroes.

"I can't let them see me, though. They still think I'm evil..." Deckel said, and he ran off.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Madison asked to Trent.

"Yeah, might as well prove if I'm strong enough to be with you guys or not. I'll be okay. But uh...where is this Mud Valley? Doesn't sound very pleasant." Trent asked.

"Trust me, it's not." Cynthia said.

"We'll show you where it is." Jake said.

Madison opened a portal, as the knights walked into it. They made their way to the Mud Valley entrance.

"Jeez, this place seems disgusting..." Trent said.

"Yeah, but it makes for good training. I remember when I picked this course for our first group training...even though I acted like a jerk about it." Jake replied.

"Yup, good times. Time sure is flying..." Nick said.

"Good luck Trent. We hope you will come back victorious." Zero said.

"We'll still be nearby in case he pulls something funny." Cameron said.

"Depends what your definition of funny is, since that guy isn't really funny from what we've seen, but yeah, we'll be here." Nick said, giving a thumbs up.

The knights waved to him, as they walked off. Trent waited there, and in the distance, saw a figure approaching, walking across the muddy ground. It was White Knight, as Trent pressed his knight stone, transforming.

Back at the park, the girls waited around, as Madison whistled.

"At least we have no Valina here to ruin this night-" Tori was saying, when Valina and the other ex-guardians gang appeared, floating in the air.

"Little girls shouldn't be out this late..." Valina taunted.

"You know, I think I'm just not going to mention you anymore." Tori sighed.

"I'm getting really tired of you." Cynthia said.

"As am I." Valina replied, shooting a lightning bolt at the ground. The girls quickly transformed, and magical sword slashes were sent at them from the shadows. 

"Where did those come from?" Audrey asked.

Gride stepped out of the shadows, growling, and holding the sword.

"Oh, it's Deckel's beast form. I guess they joined forces, hooray." Madison said sarcastically, shooting a lightning blast at him, but Gride blocked it with the sword.

Cassidy then fired a water blast right at Cynthia, who threw a rock back. The Mai doppel sent gusts of wind at Tori, who sent water blasts through them. Madison and Valina sent lightning blasts at each other. Peyton sent sound waves at Audrey, who collided with two air blasts. Briar surrounded Cynthia with rocks, but she broke through them, and sent one back at her. Gride made his eyes glow, and shined them at Tori. She sent a whirlpool at him, but he jumped out of the way.

"We have to somehow take that staff from her..." Madison said, regrouping with the girls, as they floated, countering attacks from the six.

"But how?" Audrey asked, seeing Valina holding onto it.

"I have telekinesis, maybe if I get a good enough focus, I can take it away from her...maybe?" Cynthia suggested.

"It's worth a shot, we can hold them off for you." Madison replied, and they attacked.

Back at Mud Valley, Trent and White Knight stood across from each other.

"Ready?" White Knight asked.

"Guess so..." Trent shrugged, as their stones sparks, along with their outfits.

"We start the duel on three. One. Two...Three." White Knight said, as both sent laser arrows at each other from their daggers, and Trent quickly dodged, sliding in the mud.

Trent jumped up and fired laser arrows at White Knight, who shielded himself from them, as they went shooting into the mud around.

"You are a fool if you think you can defeat me. I know all of your fighting techniques, I was part of you." White Knight said, running up to attack him, as they clashed their dagger swords together.

"Well I know all of yours too, buddy." Trent said, punching him, and White Knight kicked at his legs, trying to trip him, but he held on.

Trent then clashed dagger swords again with him, and shot laser arrows at his feet, tripping White Knight to the muddy ground. He got up angrily.

"I'll admit you got me there..." White Knight said, wiping mud off his red visor.

He fired more laser arrows, as Trent shielded himself. Trent fired some back, as White Knight blocked some with his dagger.

"We'll see who wants the sole power more. You or I." White Knight said, as he jumped up and sent a giant slash from his dagger at Trent, knocking him down.

Trent concentrated, as both of their stones were sparking heavier than before.

"How will it end?" White Knight wondered, as they looked at each other.

Back at the park, the girls kept fighting off Valina's gang and Gride. Cynthia sent a rock at Gride, but he sliced through it with the sword. She then looked at Valina's staff, and tried to focus on it, but Cassidy sent a whirlpool blast at her. Tori stopped it, and knocked Cassidy into a fountain with it.

"Thanks." Cynthia said.

Cassidy's eyes stopped looking possessed, and she looked around from the fountain.

"Hey...I remember this place. This is the Posidonia Fields Park..." Cassidy said, and her eyes went back to the possessed look.

"She just snapped out of it for a few seconds, can you get through to her?" Madison asked to Tori.

"Worth a shot." Tori said, as she focused on Cassidy's mind. 

"Wake up!" Tori yelled multiple times to Cassidy, as she floated up, and her eyes went back to normal.

"Huh..." Cassidy was saying.

"You're Cassidy Quigley, you were one of the former guardians." Madison spoke to her.

"I remember now...thanks! I'm done being Valina's mind slave!" Cassidy said, regrouping with the other girls.

"No, you are mine!" Valina yelled, shooting a lightning bolt with Gride's magic sword slash, and Madison launched a lightning bolt back at both.

"Can you free the others?" Audrey asked to Cassidy.

"I can try. Tori, maybe we can use our mind powers together to free them..." Cassidy suggested.

"Working with a former guardian who has the same powers as me? Awesome." Tori said, as both of them focused their minds on Peyton, Mai's doppel, and Briar. 

They shouted to snap out of it to the three multiple times, and they woke up. 

"What..." Briar wondered, looking around.

"I remember now. Yeah, sorry Val, but we're done being your henchmen." Peyton said, as the eight guardians floated near each other.

"Wow, it feels so awesome to have you guys on our side for a change." Cynthia said.

"Grandma, you're okay!" Audrey spoke to Mai's doppel.

"Yes I am!" Mai replied.

"Fools, I own you, your power belongs to me!" Valina said, as she pointed the staff at the four.

They tried to attack and resist, but Valina absorbed the four into the staff's gem. It kept glowing, giving Valina more power. The gem now had Elana, Mai, Mai's doppel, Briar, Cassidy, and Peyton inside of it.

"I control all of their elements now!" Valina yelled, launching two powerful aquatic blasts from her hands.

"It was fun while it lasted..." Madison sighed, as the four girls launched attacks back at her.

"I need to get that staff out of her hands..." Cynthia said, focusing on it.

She made it move a little, but Valina held onto it, and sent a rock flying at Cynthia.

"Naughty girl, there's nothing you can do to remove this staff from my grip." Valina taunted, waving her red hair.

Back at Mud Valley, Trent and White Knight kept attacking each other. Trent felt the stone lending its power to him, as it glowed. He waved his dagger sword, which also glowed. White Knight was surprised, but charged at him. Trent charged as well, and they clashed their swords at each other, running to the opposite sides. They waited, as White Knight sparked a lot.

"Ugh...guess you wanted the power more..." White Knight said, as he fell to the ground. His body then vanished in a purple mist.

Trent looked at his stone, and it was back to normal.

"Well...bye, I guess." Trent shrugged, as he walked out of Mud Valley.

Tom looked at the stone grid, as one of the white stones disappeared, and now only the six stones were there.

"Ah, balance is restored. I deserve a snack..." Tom said, opening a bag of chips.

"Tom, did I hear you opening another bag of outside food?" Luna asked, walking into the room after overhearing him.

"What food?" Tom asked, hiding the chips behind his back. Several chips fell to the ground, as she looked at him annoyed.

The knights saw Trent approaching.

"There he is...or is that the evil knight?" Jake wondered, unsure.

"We're about to find out." Zero said.

Trent then powered down, reliving the four.

"He's gone." Trent said, as the four congratulated him.

"Nice job dude, guess you had the power in you the whole time, you just had to believe, or something cheesy like that." Nick said.

"We should get back to girls, hopefully they didn't get into any trouble." Cameron said, as they headed back to the portal.

Back at the park, Valina was shooting multiple elemental attacks at the girls, overpowering them.

"I wish she had an easier off switch." Tori sighed, shooting a water blast at her, but Valina sent a powerful gust of wind back at it.

Gride flew down in front, and shined his eyes at the girls, but they launched elemental attacks at him, knocking him across the ground.

"It's a good thing nobody is coming to the park this late, or they'd be very confused." Cynthia said.

Randy the Pizza Delivery Guy was seen passing by on his bike, and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the girls.

"What the..." Randy said, leaning in closer.

Tori then noticed him, and gasped. She quickly concentrated.

"This isn't real, you're dreaming, keep moving-" Tori was trying to say, but Gride sent a slash at her back, knocking her down a bit. "Rude."

Madison and Cynthia attacked Gride, as Tori focused again.

"Okay, let's try this again. This isn't real, it's a dream, keep moving, also feel free to deliver some pizza to the Mansen residence at address 409." Tori said, winking.

Randy drove off at once, as the battle continued. The knights are seen coming out of the portal, seeing the commotion.

"Looks like you finished your battle at a good time..." Jake said to Trent, as the other four powered up.

"Good timing, handle that dragon guy, we'll take Valina. She absorbed the old guardians, and has all of their powers." Madison said, shooting a lightning blast at her, but Valina sent one back.

Jake, Cameron, Zero and Nick attacked Gride at once, clashing their swords with his. Trent stopped, and looked at Valina.

"Mom, please stop this weirdness. I know deep down you don't want to do this." Trent tried to reason with her, as she looked at him.

"Silence, you betrayed me! I am trying to do good for the world, and I will remove anyone that gets in my way!" Valina said angrily, still attacking the girls.

"Yeah, looks like she's a lost cause, dude." Jake said, slicing at Gride.

"Then you leave me no choice." Trent said, as he launched several laser arrows flying at her. One hit her staff, knocking it out of her hand, and it landed on the ground near the fountain. Several nematodes were seen near it, and they ran away.

"No, my power!" Valina said, as the girls flew towards it.

Madison quickly grabbed it, and held it out. 

"Alright, now do we destroy this-" Madison was wondering, when a green blast hit her in the back, and she dropped it.

From behind, everyone looked into the shadows. Several lights lit up, to show Ramos with the spider crab and blue jellyfish. He was wearing a clown outfit, and took off the blue nose, smiling maniacally.

"...Ramos!?" Madison said, surprised.

"What's with the stupid get-up?" Cynthia asked, as he laughed.

"Ugh, just what I needed, this fool!" Valina said.

"Miss me, sorceress?" Ramos asked, shooting a green blast from his mini-staff.

Inside the old campaign manager room at the Posidonia castle, the purple portal is seen lighting up again...

Randy the Pizza Delivery Guy is then seen ringing the Mansen house's doorbell. Hank opened it, confused.

"Pizza delivery for the Mansen residence." Randy said.

"What's the meaning of this? I didn't order any pizza." Hank said.

"Oh...my bad. Sorry, my head is weird. Don't tell my boss..." Randy said, as he walked off.

"That boy ain't right." Hank said, closing the door.

Back at the park, the spider crab crawled to Valina's staff. Audrey sent a gust of wind at it, blowing it back. She tried to grab the staff, but Valina sent a lightning blast in her way. The boys were still fighting off Gride, when several nematodes jumped all over them.

"What the!?" Jake asked annoyed, swatting one off.

The blue jellyfish made its tentacles glow electricity, trying to poke them at the girls. Cynthia grabbed Valina's staff, but she made rocks rise around Cynthia, trapping her. Cynthia then broke out, and used her telekinesis power to send a trash can flying at Valina, but she exploded it with electricity.

"Hey, what did that trash can ever do to you?" Nick asked, swatting off more nematodes.

Ramos sent another green blast from his mini-staff at Madison, who sent a lightning bolt back.

"It seems fitting you're wearing that clown costume." Madison said, sending another lightning bolt at him, and he went flying into a lamppost.

The spider crab then shot a web at Madison from behind though, trapping her.

"Haha, who has the last laugh now!?" Ramos asked, as he shot another green blast at Tori.

"This is getting annoying..." Tori said, shooting a water blast at the blue jellyfish.

Cynthia quickly tossed the staff to Zero, who caught it.

"Gride, get the staff! Wait...where is Gride?" Valina asked, noticing Gride mysteriously vanished from the battle.

"I dunno, he just bailed on our fight." Jake said, swatting off more nematodes with Trent.

"If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself..." Valina sighed, as she flew to Zero, who tossed the staff to Cameron.

Cameron punched the spider crab off to the side, and he tossed the staff to Audrey. She tossed it to Madison, but the blue jellyfish grabbed it, delivering it to Ramos.

"No!" everyone yelled.

"It is mine!" Ramos said happily, holding it in one hand.

"Don't let him get away with it!" Madison said, as several nematodes jumped in her way "meeping", but she whacked them away.

"You fool, you cannot comprehend that staff's power!" Valina said, shooting a lightning ball at him, but a magical slash was sent flying at her lightning ball.

Gride stepped out of the shadows, siding by Ramos.

"You betrayed me, Gride!?" Valina asked annoyed.

"I've always been two-faced!" Gride laughed, shooting more magical slashes at her, and Ramos sent several green magical blasts, knocking her to the ground.

Trent felt bad for her, as he sliced his dagger sword at the blue jellyfish.

Ramos then approached her, laughing.

"What...do you want from me?" Valina asked.

"Ah, you think I'm here for only you, eh? So selfish, I just want your staff! But here's a parting gift!" Ramos spoke, talking like the Joker.

He used the mini-staff to open a black hole behind Valina, which began sucking her in.

"Why do you need my staff!?" Valina asked, trying to charge an electric blast in one hand, and holding onto the ground with the other.

"Oh, I figured it'd be okay if I borrowed it, as you're probably not gonna need it WHERE YOU'RE GOING!" Ramos yelled maniacally, shooting a green blast at her other hand.

"Mom!" Trent yelled, shooting a laser arrow at Ramos.

"I'm going to regret this, but..." Madison sighed, as she flew to Valina, and kicked her out of the black hole's path.

"You...saved me..." Valina said confused, floating up.

"You saved her!? Why so serious, we could've gotten rid of her once and for all!?" Ramos rambled, when he heard the mini-staff glow to him. "...Alright, alright, fine."

Ramos and Gride shot multiple attacks at the heroes, as several hit Valina, making her fall to the ground. Ramos shined her staff, and absorbed her inside of the gem.

"Nooo!" Valina yelled, as she was shown in the gem with the others.

"Trapped inside of her own staff...what an ironic end." Nick pondered.

Trent sent several laser arrows at Ramos and Gride, but they sent attacks back, colliding.

"Uh guys, there's still the problem of that black hole thing." Tori said, pointing to it.

"Indeed there is, it'd be a shame if it went to WASTE!" Ramos yelled, shooting a blast at Madison, as she went flying towards the black hole.

"Oh boy." Madison said, trying to fly away, but it was pulling her in.

"Jelly, get crab. We're done here." Ramos ordered, staring at both staffs. The nematodes stopped attacking the heroes, and retreated.

Gride jumped on top of the jellyfish's head, and the jellyfish picked up the spider crab, flying up. The spider crab shot a web at Ramos, as he dangled from it through the air. Trent chased after Ramos, trying to take Valina's staff from him.

"You want to waste time with me, eh boy? I mean, look at your precious girlfriend..." Ramos pointed out, as the black hole was still pulling Madison in. The girls flew to her, trying to drag her away from it, holding onto her hand.

Trent ran off to help her, as Ramos laughed.

"AH HA HA! So long, morons!" Ramos yelled, as he went flying off with his henchmen into the sky.

Deckel is seen hiding in a bush, and looked at Ramos flying away. He was surprised after what just happened, and ran off. The heroes all grabbed onto each other's hands, and pulled Madison out of the portal's path. She was freed, and they attacked the portal all at once, making it disappear. 

"Thanks guys." Madison said, as they powered down.

"I can't believe Ramos one-upped us of all people." Cynthia said.

"Don't worry, we'll get that staff back." Jake said.

"Do you think he's going back to his castle?" Audrey asked.

"Most definitely, but he is probably expecting us to follow him. It would obviously be a trap." Zero said.

"At least the evil white knight is gone, that's one threat out of the way." Cameron said.

"He has my mom. I know she's insane, but she doesn't deserve to be trapped in there." Trent said.

"We'll get her back too...as long as she doesn't try to kill us if we do rescue her." Madison reassured.

"Well this is a bittersweet ending." Nick said.

"Yeah, but we've handled that clown before, I don't think having a weird magical item makes him impossible to defeat." Tori said.

"True. Let's go back to our homes though, we can focus on this tomorrow. It's getting late, and I don't want our parents asking us a million questions." Jake said.

They nodded in agreement, and walked out of the park, as a cop approaches them.

"Isn't it a school night?" the cop asked.

"It's only 9:00, we were heading back." Tori pointed out, as the gang split, going to their homes.

Ramos is seen landing in front of the Posidonia castle, with Gride, the spider crab and blue jellyfish. They walked to castle entrance, surprising the guards, and they saluted. Ramos bursted into the entrance, surprising guards and senators inside.

"I'M BACK, BABY!" Ramos yelled, laughing.

"My king, after two months, you've returned to us!" a soldier said.

"But where were you?" a senator asked.

"Why are you wearing a clown suit?" another senator asked.

"Patience. Both of those things will be explained in due time..." Ramos said.

He is seen on his throne smiling, holding the staffs in both hands. A guard then walks into the room.

"At your service, Mr. Skipper." the guard said, not seeing Ramos's face.

"I'm not a Mr. Skipper..." Ramos said to him, smiling, and the guard gasped.

Notes/Trivia

-It is revealed there cannot be two of the same knight stone active at once, or it causes a problem in the stone grid.

-

 

The Evil White Knight is destroyed, and Trent becomes the only white knight.

-

 

Deckel and Gride are separated.

-

 

Ramos steals Valina's staff, absorbs all of her power, along with the old guardian group.

Edited March 30, 2017 by jjsthekid

[Rebel the Wolfgirl]

I see you were influenced by Power Rangers Dino Thunder with this one.  

[TJ]

Oh god, this episode sure took a turn. Ramos back with power. Valina and the old guardians' power. I'm just gonna go shudder in a corner for a few minutes..

[SpongeOddFan]

as sounds crazy as this, Ramos may be next Ludo , but hot damn this episode ACTUALLY top last week's episode, according to @Metal Snake (which he called it btw ). Overall, this is biggest shocker than ever. Can;t wall to see how this gonna end this season with Ramos!Ludo taking the world. A+

[Metal Snake]

5 hours ago, jjsthekid said:

"I remember now. Yeah, sorry Val, but we're done being your henchmen." Peyton said, as the eight guardians floated near each other.

"No hard feelings about the whole using us for your own personal gain thing, we're just getting bored of this now."

2 hours ago, SpongeOddFan said:

but hot damn this episode ACTUALLY top last week's episode, according to @Metal Snake (which he called it btw ).

Thanks, but I can't accept the compliment because I was actually talking about the season finale then. Still, I agree that this episode was better than the last. We've finally wrapped things up with Valina for the time being and now we're moving on to Ramos. Let's see how the Joker makes Karmania silly again.

[SpongeOddFan]

14 minutes ago, Metal Snake said:

Thanks, but I can't accept the compliment because I was actually talking about the season finale then. Still, I agree that this episode was better than the last.

Oh ok

But yeah, i do admit to see how Trent fighting against evil Whit Knight was pretty intense battle here, and my favorite part of this episode how the heroes tried to save former guardians to snap out of it from Val which later Mad saved her for brief moment before Ramos took it away from her. Now they must stop Joker Ramos to take over the kingdom once again.

[Jjs Goodman]

50. Magnum Opus

An explosion is seen coming from Elana's castle. Darkness formed in the sky, as Karmanians looked in fear. Inside the castle, Ramos, Gride, the jellyfish, spider crab and his army are seen, taking people hostage. Vince, Mariette, and several royal guards are tied up by the spider crab's webs. Ramos points his staffs at them.

"Haha, yes, this castle is MINE, and mine only!" Ramos said, laughing.

"You can't rule us unless you're the queen." Vince said.

"Ah, but that is where you are WRONG! For you see, in the staff with the blue gem, I have all of the queen's power inside of it! I am your ruler, at long last! Bow to me!" Ramos rambled, holding both staffs in the air, as they gasped.

"Not gonna happen, psycho!" Madison yelled, as the door exploded open.

"Would people stop damaging this place?!" a royal guard asked angrily, being held by a Federation soldier.

The guardians, knights, and some rebels such as Steele appear from the smoke, confronting Ramos and his soldiers. 

"Can't you ever go away!?" Ramos asked, shooting green blasts from his mini-staff at the heroes.

"Let them go!" Steele yelled, charging to the soldiers with rebels, but were blasted aside by green blasts.

The heroes attacked, knocking soldiers down, and Ramos launched attacks from both staffs, overpowering them. The soldiers fired their laser guns, and Madison threw a lightning bolt at two, knocking them aside. The spider crab and blue jellyfish attacked, sending webs and electric blasts. Cynthia sent one soldier flying through the roof by shooting them up from the ground. Tori and Audrey sent some soldiers flying with wind and water blasts. The knights fought off some soldiers, the spider crab, jellyfish, and Gride. Gride clashed swords with Zero, and sent magical slashes at the knights and rebels. The knights tried to rescue Vince, Mariette, and the royal guards, but Ramos fired elemental blasts at them. Steele got back up and tried attacking soldiers, but Ramos sent him, and several other rebels, blasting aside with a lightning blast from Valina's staff.

"Come on, let me get in one hit!" Steele sighed.

Ramos powered up a light charge using Elana's power from Valina's staff, and sent it at all of the heroes, blasting them outside of the castle entrance.

"That's right, this is mah castle now! Stay out if you know what's good for you!" Ramos yelled, as several more soldiers and beasts were approaching the castle, firing at them.

"I really hate saying this, but Ramos is too strong. We have to retreat." Madison said.

"We'll hold them off, go on!" Steele said.

The heroes understood, as they headed to a portal in the forests. They went in, and appeared in the Golden Seahorse basement. Madison closed it, as they transformed back to normal. Ranen was waiting there for them.

"I take it didn't go well." Ranen said.

"Nope, Ramos needs to be nerfed. He has elemental powers, combined with the crazy stuff that witch got." Cynthia said.

"I've received constant reports from soldiers needing help, it's bad. We cannot let him conquer all of the kingdoms. With Elana's power in his possession, he is essentially the ruler of Central Karmania." Ranen said.

"He has my grandma too." Audrey sighed.

"I miss Mai as well, but it is not impossible. We just have to destroy those staffs." Ranen said.

"But how?" Jake asked.

"Perhaps the best answer is not always the most obvious one. For now, we have to fight off his forces, and prevent them from conquering more kingdoms." Ranen said.

"We also can't let him find out where the Underground City is, or our operation would suffer a major blow." Cameron said.

"Yeah, let's hope they aren't smart enough to find either of those...hopefully." Nick said, somewhat concerned.

"It's going to be hard to craft a well-thought out plan when we have little time. The Federation are making their way across Central Karmania as we speak." Ranen said.

"This will be like winging a school project at the last minute, no problem. Although, considering the grades I get for those, don't expect my idea to be fantastic." Tori said, and Audrey realized something.

"While you guys ponder that, I just forgot about something. I'll be right back..." Audrey said oddly, heading upstairs.

Back outside the castle, Steele and the rebels were seen tied up by the soldiers and beasts. 

"This is bad." Steele said.

"Shut up, prisoner!" a soldier said, whacking him in the face.

They were brought into the castle, as Ramos looked around.

"Bah, what disgusting decorations! I'm going to redecorate this whole castle!" Ramos rambled.

"Sir, we have some rebels." a soldier said.

"Good. Maybe I can force one of you to tell me where the rebel base is..." Ramos said, pointing both his staffs at Steele.

"Never!" Steele said.

"Then you will die!" Ramos said, powering up both staffs, when he heard the voice from the green gem. "What? But they are scum, I must destroy them! I can use them? Fine, fine..."

The rebels and Steele just looked at him confused, along with some soldiers.

"Uh...sir, were you talking to that staff?" the soldier asked, concerned.

"Yes, but it's not important! Throw the rebels in the dungeon, sooner or later, they will tell us where their base is!" Ramos said, laughing.

"But this place doesn't have a dungeon, we checked." another soldier said.

"WHAT?! What castle doesn't have a dungeon!? That's another thing I'll add when I redecorate this awful place! Sad! Crab, jelly, and soldiers I don't know the names of, watch these fools. Gride, you're with me. I must go back to Posidonia for the next part of my master plan..." Ramos ordered.

The spider crab and jellyfish looked at the rebels angrily, as Ramos and Gride walked out.

"Sir, do you need any more escorts?" a soldier asked from behind.

"I'm fine, with both these staffs, no fool would dare mess with me!" Ramos said.

"Wait, can't you just open another portal here?" a soldier asked.

"Yes, but I like doing things the hard way. I'm a man of danger, after all, I survived in the wilderness for two months. Besides, it's time I showed Karmania my new power! That reminds me of a song I heard ages ago, yes, it should be my theme song! Throw up your hands, it's time I showed you my power, throw up your hands, true believers..." Ramos sang, flailing his arms, annoying Gride.

"CAN WE JUST GET TO WORK?!" Gride asked angrily, stopping him.

They are seen headed to the portal Ramos opened to get there. Along their way, several rebels appeared, pointing weapons at both.

"Freeze right there Ramos, you're under arrest!" a rebel yelled.

"Out of the way fools, you cannot defeat us!" Gride yelled, shooting magical slashes from the sword at them.

Ramos laughed, and used Valina's staff to make vines rise up from the ground. The rebels were flung everywhere, out of his path.

"See, this is what the foolish sorceress lacked: vision. She had all this power, but never knew how to use it!" Ramos said, looking into the blue gem.

He heard rebels approaching from the forests on the other side. He then used both staffs to shoot blasts at a mountain nearby, causing an avalanche in the rebel path.

"Ouch." one yelled under the rubble.

Diggy looked outside of his trailer after hearing the avalanche. 

"Dang, it's dark and creepy out, I don't know if I like it...oh well, not my problem. Too bad I don't have any customers though..." Diggy sighed, seeing nobody in sight as everyone was hiding in fear.

Inside of the blue gem, Valina is seen floating in a blue void annoyed, in her guardian form. 

"I have no vision? He's the idiot with no vision, just destroying anything in his path with no goal or plan! His family failed for years to take over! I had a vision, I could have united kingdoms together!" Valina rambled.

"Yeah, a vision, but no conscience! This is all your fault, witch!" Elana said from behind, as she was shown with Mai.

"Silence, brat, or I'll..." Valina was saying, trying to attack her, but couldn't form anything. "No!"

Elana let out a light wave from her hands at Valina, knocking her back into the void further.

"But...how? I absorbed all of your power into the jewel!" Valina said, surprised.

"And you imprisoned me inside of it, moron!" Elana said.

"I have been teaching her to re-absorb its powers." Mai said.

"I might not be strong enough to stop Ramos, but I can crush you!" Elana said.

"And we'll help her." Cassidy said, appearing by her side, with Peyton, Briar, and the Mai doppel, as they cornered Valina.

Audrey is seen in her room, grabbing art supplies. She had art paper set up on a stand, and looked at it curiously. The heroes are seen entering the room.

"Oh, there you are." Tori said.

"Sorry, I had to get my mind off of this Karmania stuff. It's been getting tiresome with the non-stop fighting, and it made me forget about this art project. I have to complete my submission for the school's art show." Audrey said.

"Oh right...that, I remember you telling us about that weeks ago." Cynthia said.

"I know it's been tiresome for all of us, but it's our job." Zero said.

"I know, I know, but I have to get this done. I didn't mean to abandon you during planning, but Tori mentioned winging projects, and I remembered that it's due tonight! Unfortunately, I don't know what to make my painting." Audrey said, staring at the blank paper.

"Just like us with this plan. It's okay, I kind of need a break too from all of this..." Madison said, sighing.

"A break? We can't just take a break when Ramos is taking over. Like Zero said, it's our jobs." Cameron said.

"Yeah, he's right. But I say let Audrey finish her project, school is important too. I'm sure the remaining rebels can hold him back for the time being. Maybe we can help give you an idea." Jake offered, cheering Audrey up.

"Yeah, I promise I can help you guys after I finish this. I need to make this a magnum opus...I think I'm saying that right? The theme is "something beautiful"." Audrey said.

"Me." Cynthia offered, waving her hair.

"Oh hey, you still have these things. Maybe you could use it to paint something to life...although I think that'd be cheating." Nick said, picking up Paint Skater's eraser and paintbrush from the art supplies.

"Yeah, I don't cheat." Audrey pondered, as Nick put them down.

"Never mind, good luck with painting something. Ranen needs some of us to go to Karmania to help out rebels there. We can go to give you a long-deserved break." Jake said.

"I'm fine with that, we need somebody there." Cameron said.

"Thanks, good luck with that." Madison said, as the boys left.

"Paint snails, everyone loves snails." Tori suggested to Audrey.

Audrey thought of snails, which were "meowing", and then thought of them being in Karmania. They were seen being eaten by beasts like Argros, Gride and Vinerox, terrifying her.

"...Let's not do that, too simple." Audrey said.

"I'm still an option." Cynthia coughed.

"I'm not good at painting other people." Audrey said.

"How about muffins? Can't go wrong with those." Tori suggested.

Audrey thought about a bunch of muffins, but they started to burn in green fire, as Ramos smashed both staffs into them, laughing, and Audrey was terrified again.

"Uh...no, I'm getting nothing." Audrey replied.

"Okay, how about the beach? That's beautiful." Cynthia suggested.

Audrey thought of a beach setting, as the waves were in front of her, and she stood on the sand. However, the waves turned purple, as Thorn, Morgana, and Valina appeared, laughing, and the skies turned black. Audrey snapped out of the vision, looking terrified.

"I think we're not helping." Madison said.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, but none of these ideas are working. They just keep making me think of Karmania things...wait, that's it! I know what I want to paint now!" Audrey said, getting to work.

Ramos and Gride are seen walking through the Posidonia castle's hallways. A senator approaches Ramos.

"Sir, can you sign this bill? It will raise taxes by 2%." the senator said, handing it to him.

"Sure, whatever, I don't feel like reading the whole thing." Ramos said, signing it, and another senator approached him.

"Sir, while you were gone, there was debate if Posidonia should exit the Coralean Union. Signing this will allow the people to vote if we should leave or not." the senator said.

"I don't understand a word you just said, nor do I feel like reading any of this nonsense, but sure, if it gets you to leave me alone!" Ramos said, signing it angrily, and another senator approached him.

"Sir, here is a bill that-" the senator was rambling, and Ramos blasted them aside with an electric attack from Valina's staff.

"Enough of your stupid bills, I have important things to do instead of stupid political decisions!" Ramos said, as the electricity burnt the senator's bill.

"Noo!" the senator cried.

"Hey boss, you're back!" one of the two stupid soldiers said.

"Yay Ramos is back!" the other said, blocking the throne room.

"Out of my way!" Ramos yelled, knocking both aside, and they fell to the ground.

Ramos headed into his bedroom with Gride, and looked at himself in the mirror.

"Before I initiate my plan...I could use new wardrobe. Give me privacy, dragon." Ramos ordered, as Gride walked out.

Minutes later, he is seen with his beard shaved, and is now wearing emerald clothing.

"Excellent...now where is Skipper..." Ramos wondered, and walked out.

"Right here, majesty..." Skipper said, holding his mysterious bag.

"Good, you kept it, and you also kept my seat warm. I knew I could trust you, Skipper mah boi!" Ramos said, taking it gleefully, and looked inside of it.

"What is that?" Gride asked.

"This bag contains my trump card. You see, two months ago, before those brats sent me flying..." Ramos was saying, as a flashback occurred, showing unseen events from "Checkmate".

Ramos is seen angrily trying to get out of the campaign manager room. He hit a secret switch on the wall, which opened up to show his Drakkus armor. He put it on, and sliced the sword through the doors, breaking them open. 

"After I got out of that horrid room, I ran into Skipper, who told me he found something of interest in one of the abandoned dungeon cells..." Ramos narrated, as Skipper is seen approaching him.

Skipper is shown looking through the dungeon cells, and looks into Octazilla's. He finds five red eggs in the cell, which he later put in a bag, and brought to Ramos. Ramos laughed, as Skipper held onto them, and Ramos walked off to the throne room for his battle.

"A back-up plan began to hatch in my brain. I told Skipper I may not come back from this fight, so I told him to keep an eye on those Octazilla eggs until they hatched. It looks like the time is near..." Ramos said, noticing the eggs in the bag were shaking a bit.

"I don't follow your plan." Gride said.

"Once all five of these babies hatch, we'll be unstoppable. No way can they handle five Octazillas attacking the kingdom all at once, this should crush any opposition!" Ramos explained, laughing.

"This might work, I am impressed. I will plant the eggs for you personally, I know the best spots..." Gride said, taking the egg.

"Good. Maybe you can find the guardians and knights, and freeze them in their tracks with those special eye powers of yours...you still have those, right?" Ramos asked.

Gride flashed his yellow eyes at a soldier, who looked into them, and they turned to stone.

"That should answer your question. Maybe I can find Deckel as well..." Gride said, walking off.

"Wait, I have something to aid you." a scientist said, as Paint Skater rolled into the room happily, doing a peace sign with one hand.

"I thought that thing was destroyed." Ramos said, confused and annoyed.

"It was, but using its DNA, I was able to recreate it with our new reanimation machine. In fact, it can make your egg process easier..." the scientist explained.

The new Paint Skater painted four Grides, as each took an egg from the bag.

"Excellent, this will spare me some time." Gride said, as he, the four clones, and Paint Skater went out of the throne room.

"Now then, I have some business to attend to..." Ramos said, as he stormed into the campaign manager's room, looking angrily at the purple portal. "YOU!"

"Welcome back. It's been a while." the portal spoke.

"You have some nerve ditching me last time like that! Tell me your plan here, stop being so cryptic! Who really are you anyways!?" Ramos demanded.

"In due time, you will see how the wheel turns to benefit both of us. Now is not that time, but you are close." the voice spoke, as the portal vanished again.

"GAH! You always do this!" Ramos yelled angrily, as he slammed Valina's staff against the wall, and shot a green blast from his mini-staff at another wall.

"Sir, is everything okay?" a soldier asked, opening the door.

"I told you to never enter here, I'm fine, better than fine since Central Karmania is mine!" Ramos said, pushing the soldier out of his way, making them fall. Skipper approached him.

"What happened with the campaign manager?" Skipper asked curiously, as Ramos stopped in his tracks.

"I don't know man, I can't understand anything they say to me anymore. I'm pretty sure it's just either my dad or Brak or both playing a prank on me. They probably think I'm still a baby and need help, so they pretended to be some magical being knowing all about Karmania! They would do such a thing, but ha, the joke is on them, I don't need them anymore! I conquered Central Karmania on my own, without the help of their stupid mysterious "campaign manager" impersonation!" Ramos rambled.

"Whoever it is, they helped you find the princess's identity and Stone of Light. It can't be Brak, but it could be Edward." Skipper pondered.

"Yes...it would be father! We all know Brak is my father's favorite!" Ramos said, clenching his fist angrily, and has a flashback to six years ago.

Skipper is seen in front of the throne. King Edward is sitting on it, and his face is hidden in the shadows. Ramos was overhearing them from the other side, behind the doors.

"Skipper, I want you to keep a close eye on my son, Ramos. He's a complete air-headed blunderer, nothing like his brother. Still, he is the oldest, next in line to the throne, and he won the election fairly. Give him any advice, and most importantly...make sure no harm befalls him." Edward ordered.

"Of course, highness." Skipper replied, as Ramos was angry upon hearing this, and walked off, ending the flashback.

The knights are seen walking to the Underground City entrance.

"At least this place has not been discovered by the Federation...yet." Zero said, concerned.

"Hey, what's that?" Nick asked, pointing to the glowing red Octazilla egg in the ground nearby.

"That...does not look good." Jake said.

It kept glowing, and began to hatch. 

"What's inside of that egg, doc?" Nick asked, as Zero analyzed it with his eyes.

"Something not good. Destroy it now!" Zero ordered.

Cameron quickly fired a blast from his handgun at the egg, as it exploded red juice everywhere. 

"Ew." Jake said, wiping it off his helmet.

"That egg was from Octazilla, an old enemy of ours." Zero said, looking at the remains.

"Let me guess...there's more eggs." Cameron said.

"Most likely, we have to hurry before they hatch." Zero said, as they ran off.

The other four eggs were seen hatching. The first one hatched in Crystal Town, the second hatched in the Bazaar, the third hatched near Mt. Spire, and the fourth hatched in Rainbow Forest. The four Octazillas stood up tall, roaring across the kingdom.

"I think we're too late..." Cameron said, seeing an Octazilla in the distance.

Ranen is seen in the dojo, hearing multiple distress signals from rebels.

"Commander, things just went from worse to even worse, if that's possible. Apparently four Octazillas have been spotted across the kingdom." a rebel reported.

"What!? But Octazilla is in the rebel jail...oh no..." Ranen said, realizing.

The one near Mt. Spire struck one of its tentacles at it, breaking open the hidden rebel prison. The rebels fired at the tentacle, but it whacked them aside. Zero's defense system went off, firing lasers and stun beams, but the Octazilla resisted, shooting tentacles everywhere. It ripped open the roof, as rocks fell down, and broke open the original Octazilla from its cell. It walked out, as the rebels tried to fire at it, but it knocked them aside. Some of its tentacles broke open several other cells, which were Morgana, Thorn, Argros, and Vinerox, who rushed out at once.

"Finally, free from this dump again! Later, losers!" Vinerox said, using his vines to hop down from the destroyed entrance.

"What about me!?" Slypox asked angrily, slashing his blades at the cells.

"Come on!" Klobster yelled.

"The sky looks pretty..." Boboo said, looking at the darkness from his cell.

"Sorry, would love to release more of you, but that's too much work." Morgana said, as Thorn and her transformed into their beast forms, both hopping out of the broken entrance. Argros bashed aside a guard, and he ran off.

The Octazilla in Crystal Town is seen smashing its tentacles into buildings, as crystal soldiers fired their weapons at it. A crystal person reports to the Mayor's office.

"Mayor, help! A giant octopus creature is attacking!" the crystal person said.

"Oh no! Tell all citizens to evacuate!" The Mayor ordered, when a tentacle broke open the roof of the building. 

"AAAHHH!!!" the crystal person yelled, as a tentacle grabbed them, and sent them flying. The Mayor ran off at once.

The knights are seen wandering through the slums, as Karmanians villagers and beasts were running around in panic. Gride watched them from a rooftop, as they went off into the forest. Eventually, four Gride painting clones flew down in front of them.

"Four of this guy? Something's not right here..." Jake said.

"Just what we need, more duplicates of a villain." Cameron said, attacking one of the clones.

The clones attacked at once with their swords, and flew around them. All four attacked by shooting magical blasts from their mouths, as the knights tried to defend themselves. Gride himself flew down from behind, as they turned around, but he quickly shined his eyes on the four, turning them into stone.

Back in her room, Audrey finished the painting, which showed Elana's castle, surrounded in light. The guardians and knights could be seen in front, which were glowing as well.

"It's done!" Audrey said, as the girls looked at it, impressed.

"Wow, I would be surprised if this did not win." Tori said.

"Yeah, nice work Audrey." Cynthia said.

Trent and Flinn rush into the room in a hurry.

"What are you guys doing here?" Audrey asked.

"We have a major problem. Ranen told me that Central Karmania is in chaos. Two beasts you previously fought named Octazilla and Paint Skater have returned. He tried to contact the regular lads, but none of them responded..." Flinn said concerned.

"So he called us, or rather, he found me since I don't have a communicator thing like Flinn." Trent said.

"Paint Skater? But I blew that thing up in a bubble, how could it be back?" Audrey asked confused.

"I don't know, but it is somehow. Ranen also stated there's more than one Octazilla, which hatched from eggs. We must go now, the boys are in danger." Flinn explained.

They agreed, rushing downstairs. Audrey quickly grabbed the old Paint Skater's brush before going. Audrey's parents stopped her from advancing however.

"Audrey, where is your grandmother? We have looked everywhere for her for days..." her dad said, annoyed.

"Uh...I forgot to mention this, but she told me she was going back to her homeland for an emergency. She had no time to tell you." Audrey improvised.

"That's unlike her, but...alright then." Audrey's mom said, as Audrey waved goodbye to them, and they went off in a hurry.

Flinn, Trent, and the girls are seen looking around the slums, as Karmanians were running around in panic. Federation soldiers and Slayers were rampant, looking around the area.

"Get back indoors, come on, slow down!" a soldier yelled, chasing a villager, who went too fast for them.

"Alright, let's split up, and see if we can find the boys or any enemies." Madison said.

Madison, Cynthia and Tori went north, as Audrey, Flinn and Trent headed into the forests. Gride watched them from the distance, growling. He sent the three paint clones after the north group, as he, the other clone, and Paint Skater headed for the forest group. Audrey, Flinn and Trent wandered around the forests, until they came across Deckel at a campsite, whistling. He was baking something, and sitting on a log.

"Deckel?" Audrey said, confused. He got up, approaching them.

"Hello there, isn't this funny, I'm glad we could meet. I actually planned to visit you at the restaurant, but I figured you may not have listened to me, and I didn't want to make a ruckus..." Deckel said, approaching them cautiously.

"Of course we wouldn't listen to you, you're evil!" Audrey said.

"No. Gride is the one after your skins, not me..." Deckel said.

"You and Gride are the same person." Flinn replied.

"News flash, Gride and I had a little...split." Deckel said.

"You separated from Gride...that explains why your eyes aren't glowing anymore..." Audrey said.

"Yes, I am good. I promise. Gride was the one who corrupted me into doing horrid deeds. If you still don't trust me, fine, but I can help you. There are Octazillas running rampant, but I have a special power. I can still turn things into stone. That'd certainly help defeat those pests. Your prison was damaged, I don't think you'd be able to fit these things in there." Deckel said.

"I don't know if we can trust you, but I guess we don't have much of a choice, since Ramos has taken over..." Trent replied.

Gride, his clone, and Paint Skater arrived in the area, shooting attacks, as the four avoided them.

"Finally, I found you, Deckel. I'm going to make you pay for keeping me mute so long!" Gride yelled.

He shot yellow lights from his eyes at Deckel, but covered his eyes with the steampunk goggles, preventing himself from being turned to stone. He then shot magical blasts from his hands at Gride.

"Another Gride?" Flinn asked, as he slashed his sword at the paint clone. 

Trent also attacked it with laser arrows, as it exploded into paint.

"Gross." Audrey said, and sent wind gusts at Paint Skater, which skated across trees. It painted bombs, which it sent flying everywhere.

"That is one interesting monster..." Flinn said, trying to strike it, but it skated past him.

Audrey used the old Paint Skater's paint brush to paint a barrel, sending it flying with an air blast at Paint Skater, knocking it down.

"You have a magic paintbrush too? Cool." Trent said, fighting off Gride with Deckel and Flinn.

Paint Skater got up angrily, and painted a rocket launcher.

"Whoa!" Flinn said, seeing it, and being knocked down by one of Gride's magic slashes.

It fired the rocket, but Audrey painted a shield in her way, as the rocket exploded into the shield.

"I just finished an amazing painting, so I can keep painting all day." Audrey said, as she painted a TNT box, sending it flying by its side. It was about to skate away, but Audrey lifted it in the air with a gust, painting a familiar bubble around it and the TNT box.

She smiled, and waved goodbye. The bubble exploded with Paint Skater inside again, as paint splattered everywhere.

"That sucks." Trent said, jumping up to attack Gride.

"That's one threat out of the way." Audrey said, as she turned invisible, avoiding one of Gride's magic blasts. 

Deckel sent a magical blast at Gride, but he blocked it with the sword.

"This is futile, the kingdom will be ours soon enough!" Gride said.

Madison, Cynthia and Tori look around for the knights, when the remaining Gride painting clones approached them.

"Great, we need duplicates of this guy too." Tori said, as she sent a water blast at one.

Cynthia threw a rock at one, and Madison shot an electricity blast at the last. All three exploded paint everywhere.

"Ew." Cynthia said, wiping it off.

Gride kept fighting off Audrey, Flinn and Trent. Audrey painted a rocket, and sent it flying with a gust of wind at Gride.

"GWAH!!!" Gride yelled, as it sent him flying faraway.

"That was probably a childish way to end the fight, but it worked!" Audrey said.

"Couldn't we have just have arrested that paintball thing?" Flinn asked.

"I could've, but we're pressed for time, and I like deja vu. Anyways, where are the others?" Audrey asked.

Madison, Cynthia and Tori floated into the area.

"Yo." Tori said.

"What's Deckel doing here?" Cynthia asked, ready to attack.

"Wait, don't attack. He's good now...we think." Audrey said, getting in the way.

"He may be the only one who can help us against the Octazillas." Trent said, as they heard one roaring in the distance.

"Yes, but first, where are the other knights?" Deckel asked.

"That's what we were originally looking for." Madison said.

They looked down further into the forest, to see them turned into stone.

"This was Gride's doing, but I can undo it." Deckel said.

He cast out a magic spell onto the statues, and they were freed from the stone.

"Stop there you...oh, hey guys." Nick said, surprised.

"What is Deckel doing here?" Cameron asked.

"Long story short, Deckel is good, and he separated from Gride. He can help us defeat the Octazillas...we hope." Audrey said, as they heard one roaring, approaching closer.

"I suppose we don't have another choice." Jake said.

"Listen to me, if you can distract them long enough, I can turn them into stone. It won't be easy, but it can be done with time." Deckel said.

"Mt. Spire was badly damaged, so we wouldn't be able to put anything in prison right now. This is the best alternative option it seems." Zero said.

"But there's five of them, and we can't have more than one Deckel to petrify them, heh, petrify, that's an odd word. Shame though, that'd make things easier." Nick said.

"...Maybe we can." Audrey said, looking at her magic paintbrush.

Four Deckel clones are painted by Audrey, as they come to life.

"Not bad, but the original is certainly the best." Deckel boasted.

"Let's split up, and take them down." Madison said.

A montage passes. Madison, Tori, and a Deckel clone are seen attacking the Octazilla at the Bazaar. Audrey, Deckel, and Cameron are seen attacking the original Octazilla, which was near Elana's castle attacking buildings. Nick, Zero, and a Deckel clone attacked the Octazilla at Crystal Town. Flinn, Trent and a Deckel clone are seen attacking the Octazilla near Rainbow Forest. Finally, Jake, Cynthia and a Deckel clone handled the Octazilla nearby Mt. Spire. After several hard fought battles, the heroes overcame them, as all five were turned to stone by the Deckels. Final attacks were delivered by everyone, as the Octazilla statues crumbled into pebbles. All of them regrouped at the Bazaar, as Audrey erased the Deckel clones.

"Thanks for your help, I guess maybe I was right when we first met, you weren't truly evil." Audrey said.

"It was no problem. Good luck in your battle. But word to the wise, I wouldn't stay in this dimension for much longer..." Deckel said ominously, as he left in a rush.

"What was that supposed to mean?" Cynthia asked, confused.

"Eh, whatever. At least those were taken care of." Jake said.

The heroes regrouped back at Ranen's dojo.

"You may have defeated some of his forces, but this is far from over. Ramos has control, but at least the rebellion still exists. Unfortunately, when an Octazilla attacked Mt. Spire, it released Argros, Thorn, Morgana, and Vinerox again. However, re-capturing them is not our top priority for now." Ranen said.

"I'll still help in anyway I can." Flinn promised.

"As will I." Trent promised.

"At least we had a victory, and let's celebrate with Audrey's art show win...hopefully!" Madison said.

They are seen at the high school gym. Audrey's Karmania painting was on display, as her parents looked at it.

"Wow...this is amazing, I'm truly honored to be the father of someone skilled like you." her father said.

"Here comes the judge!" Madison said.

The judge looked at Audrey's painting curiously.

"This is a painting of...a magical kingdom, protected by these brave warriors." Audrey said.

"Hmm...mhm...hmm..." the judge noted, and kept walking.

After every painting was reviewed, they had the results ready. Audrey looked nervous.

"The winner is...Snail Paradise by Bobby Ferguson!" the judge said, as Bobby cried, and everyone looked at his snail painting in awe.

"Told you, everyone loves snails." Tori said, as Audrey smiled.

"You seem happy, considering how much effort you put into that, only to lose." Cynthia said.

"I don't really care I lost, since I had fun making it. I think that's what counts." Audrey said.

The scientist reported to Ramos on his throne, who was staring at the green gem in his mini-staff. Valina's staff was leaning on the throne's right side.

"Bad news boss, the Octazillas and Paint Skater clone have all been destroyed. Unfortunately, we can't remake Paint Skater again since we already used our only DNA file." the scientist reported.

"Oh well, Central Karmania is still mine, so I still win!" Ramos said.

"But there is something else of interest. It appears one of the eggs did not fully hatch..." the scientist said.

"How can this be? There were five Octazillas, were there not? Are you just messing with me!? I don't find it funny!" Ramos said eerily to the scientist.

"No sir, the fifth Octazilla was actually the original one. One of the eggs did not hatch, I swear..." the scientist said.

"...Then clearly it was going to hatch somewhere they did not want it to. Looks like we have a lead..." Ramos said, smiling.

...

Ramos is later seen entering the campaign manager's room angrily, staring into the purple portal.

"Alright...dad, you can drop the act. I know it's you, you've been giving me advice this whole time because you think I'm not fit enough to rule Karmania! Fess up!" Ramos said, looking at it.

There was silence from the portal.

"Come on, out with it, I got you red handed, there's no way out now!" Ramos said.

"I am not your father." the portal spoke, surprising Ramos.

"What...but then who the heck are you!? Why did you let me get sent flying to nowhere!?" Ramos asked.

"I have been guiding you Ramos. It is what you needed. Every great warrior needs to lose at a point in their life. Your loss allowed you to change, and you found that staff. I am the voice you hear inside of that stone." the portal said, as Ramos stared into the green gem, which was glowing.

"I still don't understand..." Ramos said.

"Your loss allowed you to find me. Now you have both halves of the sorceress's stone. You are a key in releasing me. The world will be ours if you listen. No more tricks, no more cryptic words, the time has come." the voice spoke.

"...Awesome." Ramos said, laughing.

Notes/Trivia

-Paint Skater is briefly revived, making it the second beast to be revived in some way (first being Daunter).

-Audrey still has the old Paint Skater's brush and eraser from "Framed".

-There is a Brexit reference.

-The presence of multiple Octazillas confirms there can be more than one of the same Karmanian beast. (There would be differences though; ie they wouldn't all be named Argros, and other things like shape/height/color)

-

 

Thorn, Morgana, Argros, and Vinerox escape from prison again.

-

 

The "campaign manager" returns, revealing it is the one who was speaking to Ramos in the green gem, and that it wanted him to lose the battle in "Checkmate". Ramos originally thought the campaign manager was his father Edward trying to help him in S1, so he played along with the voice's advice, which helped him find the Stone of Light somehow.

[SpongeOddFan]

This is really good, seeing how Ramos recaptures his kingdom gives me s1 feels again, and I loved how the heroes put it together to destroyed Octezilla which thanks to Deckel's help (even tho the gang didn't trusted him at fist). Still, it was fun episode to see it, along Authroy's sub-plot drawing nice picture .

[Metal Snake]

Yeah, this episode gave me Season 1 vibes, which is good. The best parts for me were with Deckel and the reveal of the campaign manager.

[TJ]

Another great episode, with finally some more on the campaign manager angle. And I loved the brexit reference you included. I noticed it he minute I go to that part .